The Philosophers' Cocoon

5 responses to “Will a VAP in a writing (or other) program hurt one as a candidate for TT jobs in philosophy?”

1. Anonymous

   January 20, 2026

   Part of me says: don’t worry about it if/until you secure and accept the writing position. Another part of me says: as a search committee member, I wouldn’t care, so long as you, otherwise and for the most part, fit the position of the tt job you’re applying to in the future. Yet another part of me says: if you secure and take the writing position, you would want a sentence or two explaining why you’re in the writing position. Then, return to second point.

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2. Anonymous

   January 20, 2026

   I think this will hurt your chances at some jobs, but be fine for others. Typical 4 year state colleges will certainly welcome someone with experience working on student writing. So that is good. But any “alternative” academic job – one outside a typical philosophy department – tends to work against people wanting jobs at research-focused universities. The assumption often made is that if your research was strong you would not be in this position in the first place. That, I think, is what you should expect

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   1. Anonymous

      January 20, 2026

      I think this is correct and something to be realistic about. I took one such “alternative” academic job for family and economic stability after striking out on the TT market following a two-year post-doctoral fellowship. I’ve had way less success applying to jobs from my current position than I did when I was a post-doc, despite now having an objectively better file (e.g., more and better publications, more teaching experience, more conference presentations, grants and awards, etc.).

      I do still get the occasional interview, though, so not all departments are averse to people with this type of background. One thing I always do now is address my current position in my cover letter: how I ended up here, why I’ve stayed here, and how I’ve still managed to remain active in research and teaching. I’ve tried to spin it as a positive, or as something that demonstrates my commitment to philosophy and ability to remain productive under non-ideal conditions. But then again I’ve never been offered a TT job, so take with a grain of salt!

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3. Michel

   January 20, 2026

   That would be just fine in my book. Desirable, even.

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4. Anonymous

   January 20, 2026

   Will it hurt? Probably not. Will it help? No. Do you have to do what you need to do to survive and do search committees recognize that? Absolutely.

   If it is a choice between a freshman comp job or a philosophy job, if the long term goal is to teach philosophy, then choose the latter. If it is a choice between freshman comp and no job–well, that’s not really a choice.

   There are ways to spin a year teaching writing that could be of interest to some philosophy departments. The ability to teach writing would be thought a “nice to have” provided the rest of the file is solid. More teaching experience is better than less, though teaching outside philosophy won’t be thought to count for a lot. If it is a kind of institution unlike others you’ve taught at, that diversity of experience could be thought valuable.

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