The ‘Lucky’ Ones

These days, it may seem somewhat improper to write about the stresses of the fortunate few who have found tenure-track jobs, since, without question, the people who haven’t are surely suffering most. But, as Ari Kelman points out in a recent post over at The Edge of the American West, one of academe’s “dirty secrets” is “how much it can suck to land [an academic] position.”

He explains why:

Precious few people, even in times of plenty, are offered jobs they really want, at least not straight out of graduate school. This means they’ll have to move to a place they don’t want to move. Or they’ll have to work at an institution that bears little resemblance to the temple of knowledge they associate with higher education. Because, after all, few people get jobs at schools like the ones where they received their BAs or PhDs. The conditions of employment, in other words, aren’t great in most instances: perhaps too much teaching, sometimes in fields distant from one’s area of expertise; perhaps low pay, sometimes not enough to buy a house or cover the cost of living in one’d new hometown; perhaps a grim work environment, sometimes peopled by unruly colleagues, hostile administrators, and intellectually indifferent students. And finally, the realization that this is it, that this is what all the fuss was about.

It’s that last point that can be most painful. We literally spend years pointing toward the job market. … Then, after all that time and energy, for those of us lucky enough finally to be offered a job, the experience can be disheartening. A sense of anti-climax: “My goodness, this is it. All that work, and what do I have to show for it? A job. … And very likely not even the job I really want. Which means I have to get back on the roller coaster right away.” … Advisers and peers typically expect successful job candidates to celebrate. It can be unsettling, then, to find oneself somber, or at least a bit wistful, in what one’s culture dictates should be a moment of triumph.

Of course, those are lucky problems to have, Kelman writes. He urges people to keep in mind that some jobs turn out “better than anticipated. Hostile environs sometimes hide delightful landscapes. Good friends sometimes lurk amidst scores of eccentric colleagues. And eager mentees sometimes rise above crowds of indifferent students.” And “in the end, it really is just a job.”