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[feckless]

Deliver me from my mother-in-law. She (along with most of the non-academic world) appears to be under the impression that I can simply knock on the door of any old university and land a job in my social science discipline by virtue of my recently-completed PhD. As a consequence, she's mystified at the constant stream of applications I send winging around the English-speaking world, from Dogpatch, USA to Boondoggle, Australia -- and of course, concerned that I might take her son with me when Dogpatch taps me for an assistant professorship. Tonight she suggested I try landing a tenure track through a local temp agency. I despair.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you explain that flogging a highly specialized degree in the Job Market from the Black Lagoon means a limited number of viable workplaces?

Without anyone's eyes glazing over, I mean.

[%sig%]

[lefty]

Oh, do I ever sympathize.  I've been asked more than once by my in-laws why I didn't just teach high school.

[Theatre MFA]

But there are some great schools here in Saginaw!  Why don't you work there???   (Yeah - and then I could live my Grandma too!)

Not that there is anything wrong with Saginaw....  

My whole family drives me nuts!  Luckily my partner isn't like that....

"Have you heard yet?"

"Why don't you just send them a resume???"

[anon]

THAT is hilarious.  To me, of course, not to you.  Thanks for the smile.....

[Other Senior Prof]

Welcome to the club!

But, dare not fret.  These people who don't get why you don't just apply up the street or teach high school also, most likely, never understood how you could bury yourself in Song of Solomon or a Jane Austen novel and be perfectly happy; why you didn't melt your brain with TV; or worry more about having the just-right big hair in high school.  

They are your family and they want you close.  But don't think that you can make them understand them anymore than they can makeyou understand them.

These are the same people who think what we do "isn't really work."

[Other Senior Prof]

"make them understand you" . . . sorry about that, by two year old announced her intention to boycott clothes and it is like 3 degrees outside.

:)

Of course, you could say "I'd gladly work up the street if it wasn't such a lousy school."

Seriously, I think you can explain the economics of this to anyone who ever worked in an industry that down-sized, like heavy manufacturing, or people who were careed military.  You go where the work is available.

[WE]

:)

How about the "You don't want to spend your whole life in school, dear? " when you go to grad school?

I did apply to the school up the street from the mother-in-law - hubby made the short list - then they pulled the plug due to money problems.

I also applied to the school down the street from my grandfather. The one that he sent me all of the articles from the paper about how they were growing and expanding in my area.

Lucky me - I interviewed but it was an obvious "poor fit" for them -

Still can't explain to mom that no the other school down the street is not as good as the t-t I am at.

[feckless]

I know she means well, bless her. I think it's difficult for her to understand as a nurse, and for my own mother, who is a social worker, because those professions are in demand everywhere.

[%sig%]

[me too]

LOL.  I get the same thing from my relatives.  They just don't seem to get that we can't just apply for jobs wherever we wish...we have to wait on job announcements.  If there isn't a job opening where we'd like to work, then we can't apply there.  I used to tell them constantly that applying for academic jobs isn't like applying for regular jobs where you just walk in and fill out an application (followed by a quick interview with the manager).  

Now that I have an academic job, they don't understand that it's not like a 9-5 job.  They also think that all I do is teach, and that when I'm not in class, I have nothing but free time.

[desperado]

" They also think that all I do is teach, and that when I'm not in class, I have nothing but free time."

Your family must be my state representatives.

[WE]

Your family must be my students LOL
 

I have a couple of other students ask me - so what else do you do? Why aren't you in your office all the time like Dr. X?

Dr. X is a lecturer.

I have grad students and a lab and grant proposals and....

[feckless]

Another innovative suggestion from mum-in-law: "Have you considered volunteering, dear? Sometimes it helps just to get a foot in the door, you know."

Dear University-Up-the-Street:

I was wondering if you have any volunteer teaching opportunities in the social sciences? I'm a hard worker and a quick learner and would like to get my feet wet.

Sincerely,
Feckless

--------------

Dear Feckless:

We already have a large army of volunteers. They're called adjuncts. Thank you for your interest.

Regards,
University-Up-the-Street

[%sig%]

[Elizabeth]

Too funny!  Any and all of these statements could have come from my own relatives.  I've tried explaining gently that for a job in my field to open up, someone generally has to retire or die, but I still get the helpful job-hunting suggestions.  "Have you ever thought about teaching at Hometown College?  Maybe you should send them your resume!"

[q]

feckless wrote:

> As a consequence, she's mystified at
> the constant stream of applications I send winging around the
> English-speaking world, from Dogpatch, USA to Boondoggle,
> Australia -- and of course, concerned that I might take her son
> with me when Dogpatch taps me for an assistant professorship.
>

Just wait, the best is yet to come.

When you finally do land a really great t-t assistant professor position, she is going to think that you are some professor's assistant (i.e., secretary).

My family always wants to know how long it will take before I become a REAL professor and stop being an assistant. I honestly think that they believe I spend my days fetching coffee and picking up dry cleaning for some full professor.

[grizelda]

I'm just going to tell mom and the grands that the truth is I don't really want to work at all.  That's why I got into this scam of a three-hour-per-week (i.e. teaching face time) profession in the first place.  The whole Ph.D. thing was just a ruse, something I did to avoid getting a job.