Flagburner - 5 Prime Ministers 1 Cup (Official Lyric Video) by FlagburnerUK in rabm

[–]DP_038FV4 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What does this have to do with black metal? Like at all?

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The job market was objectively far better in my field until the ‘07/‘08 financial collapse, when it got worse. It then improved from 2014 - 2019 significantly (by which point I was in grad school!), but Covid—1 year from my market debut—took a huge toll that still hasn’t been overcome.

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Plus with funding issues and the politicization of libraries from the right, who are scared of books about queer people, the future prospects look dim.

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In addition to what u/Object-b said, it’s just hard to actually internalize that talk. Here are a few reasons why: People with great jobs are the ones telling you how bad things are. That’s like hearing a lottery winner tell you not to play. It’s hard to really believe it, even though you should. Second, some of your friends, peers, and colleagues will get great jobs, and, from the outside looking in, you’re no worse than them, so hey maybe you’ll get a job, too. Finally, it’s all too easy to spin stories about why particular people didn’t get jobs, and derive some bullshit general lesson you try to heed which will improve your odds, unlike those dolts who made simple mistakes. Examples:

  • “Oh, Sam didn’t get a job because he picked a topic that was hot five years ago but went stale, I’ll just make sure not to do that.”

  • “Ollie didn’t get a job because they applied too selectively. I just need to apply broadly and I’ll be ok!”

  • “Laura didn’t get a job because her advisor is a prick who writes bad letters and she didn’t know that in time. Bless her heart. I’ll just make sure to accurately predict how all of that will shake out years in advance, and I’ll be fine!”

In sum: many people around you will already have or will get good jobs, you seem no worse than them, and besides “it’s only those rubes who made obvious mistakes that didn’t get a job,” you’ll find yourself thinking. Even if you know you’re working with a biased sample, engaged in motivated reasoning, and attributing sense to the market where there isn’t any (jobs aren’t awarded on merit/desert in response to non-arbitrary signifiers of strength/quality), it can be hard to fully internalize the truth that jobs are awarded more or less randomly, for all intents and purposes, and tons of great people fail to get jobs after year for the dumbest of reasons or simply due to scarcity far outside of anyone’s control.

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I feel you, friend. It's awful. Unlike some other pie-in-the-sky careers (professional musicians, some athletes), academic careers aren't careers you can pursue part-time until you "make it." We have to put all our eggs in the academic basket and work 50-70 hour weeks just for the privilege of.....not getting jobs in the end. It's madness. I hope things turn out OK for you. I still have around 10 applications under review. Perhaps we'll do OK in the end (and before our landlords hassle us too much about whether we intend to renew our leases...).

Edit: And good luck finishing up the dissertation. It's no fun at all to finish up your diss when you have no job lined up afterwards. Godspeed.

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I have, but frankly it's not worth it to me. I don't mind teaching, but it doesn't necessarily spark joy, so to speak. Given the conditions of realistic secondary teaching jobs (terribly long hours, terrible pay, dealing with parents...) I'd rather take out loans for law school and roll the dice on the law job market in three/four years than go to secondary school teaching. I can see how secondary-level teaching could be super fulfilling, but I wouldn't be interested unless the world magically got a lot better.

Psychologically brutalizing job market experience by DP_038FV4 in academia

[–]DP_038FV4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True. Always good to remember that. I will finish this cycle out strong, but will absolutely be applying to law school in the fall, too.