Many of us think it is important for prospective grad students to be aware of the hazards of seeking a graduate degree in philosophy, as well as the cold hard facts about the academic job-market. Some even contend that students should be dissuaded from seeking a graduate degree in our field. The general thought here seems to be: people should really know what they are getting into before making such a potentially life-changing decision. I wholeheartedly agree. But if that's the case, then there are probably a few other things that potential grad students–not to mention job-candidates!–should know: namely, what different kinds of academic jobs are actually like, and how to figure out which kind of job is "right" for you.
My own sense is that many [most?] people–undergrads, graduate students, and faculty–have surprisingly little idea of just how dissimilar different types of academic jobs can be. Consider, for instance, the differences between a "research job" at an R1 university, and a "teaching job" at a small liberal arts college [SLAC]. Looking at a job ad, the differences might not appear very large. A typical course load at an R1 job is 2/2–that is, two courses per semester–and at a teaching job maybe a 3/3 or 4/4. On the surface, these differences might appear relatively minor. "What's one or two more courses?", you might think, "Maybe I'll have a little less time to do research at a teaching school…but it can't be that different, right?"
Actually, at least in my experience, the differences can be enormous. On the one hand, at an R1 school you may teach a regular rotation of courses squarely in your AOS–which means you will probably not have to do a ton of course-prep. You may also have teaching assistants to do much of your grading. At an SLAC, however, many of your courses may be outside of your AOS–and you may not teach a stable rotation of courses, but indeed, may have to prep new courses outside of your areas of specialization all the time. Although I've only had a TT position at a mid-sized liberal arts college, I had two Visiting Assistant Professor positions–one at a research school and the other at a liberal arts college–and I found the differences to be far greater than I expected. In my first, research job I spent approximately 75% of my typical week during the semester doing research and 25% teaching. In my current job? My typical week during the semester is approximately 90% teaching. I won't go into detail about why this is–there are many reasons for it–but my interactions with other philosophers at teaching institutions have suggested that their jobs are similar: a whole lot of teaching, and not much time for research, at least during the semester. Now, part of this is personal choice–that is, of how one decides to prioritize things in any given job. I could certainly imagine someone finding a way to dedicate more time to research in a job like mine–and so individual differences are relevant too. Still, the choices one makes may well be in large part a function of the particular job one finds oneself in [one may find oneself loving teaching, for instance]!
And indeed, here's the really interesting thing. I would caution readers from arriving at any quick judgments about whether a teaching job is or is not "right for you" on the basis of your preconceptions. If you're a person who loves research, you might think you would obviously be happier in a research job than a teaching one [though, I expect, most would be happy to have any well-paying job at all]. However, I'm a person who loves research and I've found a teaching job positively liberating…as a researcher. Why? When I was in my research VAP, my research was very narrowly focused–and kind of stultifying. All I did was read books and journal articles in my AOS, and I really struggled finding exciting new things to think about. I felt "boxed in" to a specific literature. Once I ended up in a teaching job, my teaching required me to read all kinds of things by diverse authors across a diverse variety of of philosophical subfields…and I found research to be exciting again in a way that I hadn't in a long while. In other words, I found–for me, at least–that teaching is research. For me, preparing lectures is research. So is developing new courses. So is playing with new ideas in the classroom. [For what it is worth, I also found–as in my experience my other people in teaching jobs often find–that teaching can be the most rewarding part of the job as well].
In short: my experience is that different jobs can be very different, but that it can also be good "not to judge a book by its cover." You may not think that a teaching job would be an ideal position…and yet such a position just might surprise you. But this is just my experience. There are far more types of academic jobs out there than the kinds with which I have experience. There are overseas jobs, administrative jobs, community college jobs, etc. How different are all these jobs, how can you tell if they are "right for you"? Unfortunately, I wouldn't know, as my experience is limited. So perhaps it might be helpful–to our undergrad, grad, and faculty readers–if you, the Cocoon's readers, were willing to share a bit about your experiences in your jobs!
- What kind of academic job do you have?
- What is your job like on a day-to-day basis?
- What parts of your job do you enjoy/not enjoy?
Please do feel free to be frank. I expect there are many readers out there who would be eager to hear–for better or worse–what your jobs are actually like. Thanks, in advance, to everyone who takes the time to chime in!
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