Are the Humanities really that grim?

Graduate School
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<p>I have recently been accepted into an MA program in American Studies. I hope to use this experience as a launching point for a PhD in a humanistic field. I have particular interests in music and technology, geography/regional planning, new media studies, heritage tourism, etc. I haven't begun my graduate research so I don't want to suggest that I am a particular scholar when I haven't really begun to do rigorous research. In my experience in school, I've come to realize that what I'm studying really isn't too important, but more the approaches and methods used to study materials.</p>

<p>Obviously in pursuing a PhD in a humanistic field I have a career goal of becoming an instructor/professor at an institution of higher education. I am however, realistic and I do realize that these jobs are becoming harder to come by and I'm sure my goals of being a professor merely a pipe dream.</p>

<p>That being said, I have no qualms with working outside of academia or in a less-than-desirable realm of academia (university adjunct, community college, high schools, middle schools, etc). </p>

<p>Furthermore, I have been working on a trade during my undergrad to help pay the bills (I am a meatcutter at a well-regarded store in the Southeast), so if all else fails I have something to feed me.</p>

<p>I do not want a job handed to me, I do not want tenure track or benefits or a position handed to me on a silver platter. I have worked my butt off at school and working 35-40hrs a week and have received praises at both places. </p>

<p>But I am scared that by entering into a humanities degree path, I am hurting my marketability for future employers. Am I better off taking my BA in American Studies and forgoing grad school altogether? Will I be just as employable (if not less employable) if I continue my education in something that many people deem "useless?"</p>

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<p>Maybe stop after the M.A. That’s your ticket into teaching at community colleges or secondary independent prep schools (no teaching certificate required at most). Both careers are solid. Tenure-track prof at a university probably won’t happen for you after your PhD toil. But if you’re really interested in the academics & research, go for the PhD for its own sake, not as the means to a position.</p>

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<p>Yes, the humanities really are that grim. And American studies just makes it worse.</p>

<p>If you really want a PhD in the humanities - especially in a field like American studies - you should only pursue it if</p>

<p>1) You really want to spend 6-10 years of your life relentlessly pursuing the PhD
2) You want to do this because you really, really, really love the humanities and American studies in particular, love it enough that you don’t mind make $20-30,000 a year for 6-10 years just to study it
3) You don’t mind the fact that you probably won’t get a tenure-track job in the humanities, AND you don’t mind the fact that the PhD may make you a little less employable in other fields, too. OR you go to a very high-ranked program with a great placement rate. But these days, a “great placement rate” can mean 50% of graduates find jobs, and “jobs” often mean one-year visiting positions or part-time work.</p>

<p>You SHOULD have qualms with being an adjunct. There’s nothing wrong with community college work - although do realize that most community colleges do not employ scholars of American studies - and don’t generally offer classes in any of the things you are interested in. So if you want to teach at a CC or have that open as an option to you, I would recommend a PhD in a discipline.</p>

<p>BUT adjuncting is not a viable long-term option. Generally they get paid around $3,000 a class and don’t have benefits; at most places, they don’t even have an office. This means that even if you teach 6 classes a semester, you’re still only making $36,000 a year before taxes. And there’s no time left over for scholarship. Don’t even entertain that as a career idea, unless the idea of working 100 hours a week for less than $40K thrills you.</p>

<p>I’m going to disagree with snarlatron a bit here. An MA is not a ticket to teaching in a CC anymore, not in the humanities. It used to be that way, but as the job market constricts and fewer people are able to find full-time positions at other types of institutions, humanities scholars with PhDs are taking jobs at CCs. So it’s very difficult to get a full-time, permanent t-t job at a CC with an MA in the humanities. You can definitely teach as an adjunct - one or two classes - with an MA, but even a lot of adjuncting jobs are being taken by desparate PhDs. At secondary independent prep schools an MA will usually suffice, although some of the really tony ones hire primarily PhDs.</p>

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<p>Thanks to both of you for the realistic responses. I do appreciate the incite. Allow me to clarify a bit.</p>

<p>I do honestly love American Studies, but I am looking into other fields for my PhD. Since the field itself is interdisciplinary in nature, I have been exposed to other fields that have piqued my interests. I have a decent musical background and I have really enjoyed reading works by Mark Katz, Alan Lomax, and other musicologists so musicology is my ideal (albeit equally unemployable) field. I do have interests in other fields (anthropology, communication, history, new media studies, critical theory, geography) but these fields seem to be equally undesirable at the moment (and probably in the future). </p>

<p>Fortunately for me, in the case of working for a CC, my masters program in American Studies is in my school’s Humanities department. Since most of my coursework will have the Humanities prefix and not an American Studies prefix I will earn the 18 credit hours in “Humanities” required to teach at many community colleges.</p>

<p>I do not see being an adjunct as a full-time career choice, but I am not “above” being an adjunct until something better opens up. I live in rural Florida where $20-30k a year is considered doing very well for most families. My other option is to grind it out as a meat cutter making $15-25k for the next few years with the hopes of becoming a manager making $40k a year and working 50+ hours a week. I am living with my parents right now and receiving in-state tuition, so fortunately I am not in as much debt as many of my peers are.</p>

<p>Considering my other option is rather undesirable (although once again, I am not “too good” for any job but I would prefer to do something I like for a living if given a choice), I would like to pursue academia. I think I am good enough and hardworking enough to eventually find some sort of employment, but once again I could just be naive and full of youthful ambition. </p>

<p>Just to give some background on my academics, I was accepted into my MA program even before my GRE scores were received. I am going to the same university for my MA that I received my bachelor’s in (University of South Florida). My department awarded my a scholarship in my undergrad that required a nomination by faculty members, and I haven’t received anything lower than a B+ on any of my coursework within the department. Most of the faculty I have worked with have encouraged me to continue with my studies (I was originally planning on earning a Bachelor’s at the most) and have suggested that I have the ability to earn admission to a top PhD program in American Studies or Musicology if I decided to continue my academic career. I should also have presented a paper at a Musicology conference and have a paper submitted to be published in a smaller, more local academic journal before I graduate from my undergraduate program in December.</p>

<p>I know that isn’t much to brag about, and I’m trying to toot my own horn. I’m just posting that information to clarify that I’m not going into academia because I’m scared of the “real world,” but I do see myself succeeding in academia if I do find work in the industry.</p>

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<p>Interesting - I stand corrected. I’m basing this on my own job search in the late 90s when not was only the M.A. sufficient for CC, but also CCs were leery of hiring PhDs who might use the position merely as a launching pad to conventional college positions that opened up later.</p>

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<p>OP - Look through this resource sometime. A lot of hopeful teachers are completely unaware of the considerable opportunities in independent schools:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.carneysandoe.com/[/url]”>http://www.carneysandoe.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>My Advice: Until you have more focus on what you REALLY REALLY want to do and have researched EVERYTHING, I would hold off attending graduate school.</p>

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<p>nwcrazy,</p>

<p>I appreciate your opinion, but I’m definitely going to at least complete my masters. I’ve already been accepted to the program and the faculty are excited to work with me on my proposed thesis, so I’m looking forward to that experience. I’ll be living at home and working two jobs (as a GTA and as a meatcutter 1-2 days a week) so I won’t be taking on too much of a financial burden to fund my education.</p>

<p>I do want to work in higher education, and I have researched its rather bleak outlook which is why I posted here to get a bit more of a conversation started on the topic (compared to the typical one-sided article in a newspaper or academic journal). It’s my dream career, and I don’t think I have any misconceptions on how time consuming, lonely, underfunded, and demanding a career in higher ed would be.</p>

<p>That being said, if I’m going for advanced education, I would like to earn degrees/training in something that might make me marketable to others outside academia. I have considered pursuing Public History and/or Digital Humanities for either another master’s or a PhD program. Since I live in Florida, I am considering the following programs:</p>

<p>[UCF:</a> CAH: Ph.D. in Texts and Technology](<a href=“http://tandt.cah.ucf.edu/]UCF:”>http://tandt.cah.ucf.edu/)
[UCF:</a> CAH: History: Public History](<a href=“http://history.cah.ucf.edu/graduate/publichistory.php]UCF:”>http://history.cah.ucf.edu/graduate/publichistory.php)
[UWF</a> - Department of History - Public History M.A.](<a href=“History and Philosophy | University of West Florida”>History and Philosophy | University of West Florida)</p>

<p>and I have also looked into these programs as well:
[USF</a> :: Department of Anthropology](<a href=“http://anthropology.usf.edu/graduate/phd/]USF”>Department of Anthropology | University of South Florida)
[USF</a> :: Department of Geography, Environment and Planning](<a href=“School of Geosciences”>http://gep.usf.edu/grad/phd/)</p>

<p>I know that these social science/humanities based degrees are nowhere near as marketable outside of academia as say, engineering or science or business degrees, but by crossing over into a more social science driven course of study, would I be more marketable to any industry or be in the same boat as if I would’ve done Musicology or American Studies?</p>

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<p>If you’re interested in history, I think a masters in public history is the way to go. I’m getting a masters in American History, and am thinking about adding public history as a minor field. I’m also working at a historic site as an intern this summer, and the one thing I’ve noticed is that public history, especially digital history, is huge. Getting a masters in a program specializing on digital history and technology would make you marketable to museums, educational programs and all sorts of other fields.</p>

<p>If you love your American studies department then by all means go for it. Please do not take offense, but a few of my professors seem to look down on American studies a bit, as do other historians if you read the reviews they publish about books. I personally don’t adhere to this bias (so much of academia is honestly a bit of snobbery and people thinking their disciplines are better than others), but it is something to consider. (At the same time, our university’s American studies department is severely lacking, so this could be part of their bias and may not be as widespread as they make it appear to be).</p>

<p>I think you should really think about what it is you want to do with your career, then move backwards and select a graduate program that will further this the most.</p>

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<p>Academics looking down at American studies is one of the reasons why a PhD in that field may not be a good choice. I’m not saying that their disdain is warranted, but the reality is it exists and may prevent you from getting an academic job - especially when you are competing with 300 other applicants for the same job, more than half of whom probably have a PhD in the disciplinary field the department wants and the same accomplishments you have, or better.</p>

<p>I 100% agree that you should work in the other direction. Begin by thinking about what it is you want to do, and then work backwards to what kind of degree you need.</p>