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[omkar]

I'm beginning to think about going for a PhD in English. My basic picture is this:

Finished my MA in English, went to South Korea for a year, came back to work in a CC, enrollment went down, now I'm back in South Korea. I want to get back to the States and get into a solid career, teaching.

I'd like to work in a CC, or even a uni. But, the field seems flooded with applicants. So, is it a foolish investment of time? 

[larryc]

The odds are certainly against you. Is there anything else you might like to do with your life?

[yellowtractor]

Well, most of us found jobs, eventually.

We've had many, many threads about the risks and liabilities of graduate study with an aim of eventually finding work as an academic.  Yes, the law of supply and demand does not currently favor any of us in the humanities.  Ask yourself:  if this is your passion, how much might you be willing to sacrifice for it?  And under what circumstances?  (There are no "right" or "wrong" answers to these questions--but you should ask them, of yourself, now.)  And if this is not, as it turns out, your passion, then....

[larryc]

Well, most of us found jobs, eventually.

Is this actually true? I think only a minority of people entering PhD programs in the humanities end up on the tenure track. Am I mistaken?

[yellowtractor]

Well, most of us found jobs, eventually.

Is this actually true? I think only a minority of people entering PhD programs in the humanities end up on the tenure track. Am I mistaken?

Sorry:  I meant most of us here on the fora.  We are something of a self-selecting sample set.

[larryc]

Yes, most people who found jobs did in fact find a job!

[yellowtractor]

Yes, most people who found jobs did in fact find a job!

Yes, I admire the reflexive elegance.

(OP, don't mind us.  The truth is we've had dozens of threads on this subject.  The bottom line is that the odds are against you and the investment of time and money, compared to the quantity and quality of employment opportunities at the far end of the pipeline, are poor, especially compared to other lines of work.  Even many of us who entered graduate study with real passion for our disciplines found ourselves challenged, and sometimes bitter.  The best you can do is assess your passions and your goals and make an informed decision about whether to take the plunge.)

[case_insensitive]

I'm beginning to think about going for a PhD in English. My basic picture is this:

Finished my MA in English, went to South Korea for a year, came back to work in a CC, enrollment went down, now I'm back in South Korea. I want to get back to the States and get into a solid career, teaching.

I'd like to work in a CC, or even a uni. But, the field seems flooded with applicants. So, is it a foolish investment of time? 

If you want a solid career, then choose something that will give you that.  Some huge percentage of PhDs in English will never get a tenure-track job (and I'm talking about the ones that want one).

Try accounting, finance, just about anything in business, engineering... if you want a likely solid career.

There's nothing wrong with getting a PhD in English. However, it's not something you choose if what you are after is a solid career.

[georgia_guy]

Building on what case_insensitive said, but trying to incorporate your current experience, I would suggest you look into either a Ph.D. in international business, or perhaps a Ph.D. in an area that would allow you to teach as a business communications faculty (although that seems to vary depending on the school you look at).

[larryc]

How about teaching high school? God knows we need good high school English teachers. And in some states the pay is pretty good. You might be able to land a job at a private school right now but in a public school you will need to be state certified. Google "alternative certification" to find some shortcuts.

[omkar]

Yes, I've thought about high school. Alternative certification seems like a good way to look into it.

My passion is in ideas and in teaching.

I suppose this is why I chose to stop at the MA in the first place. I got a sense that the road to hoe was rocky and laden with IED's.

I'm trying to be a blend of the naive idealist bubbling over with ideas and a sound practicalist, knowing full well that I'll need to put bread on the table, even if I got the table from the Salvation Army!

Are the chances worth the while to look into private schools?

[pandamonium]

Yes, I've thought about high school. Alternative certification seems like a good way to look into it.

My passion is in ideas and in teaching.

Are the chances worth the while to look into private schools?

My spouse teaches with an alternative certification. The process is relatively easy to navigate but does take a little time (though not as long as a doctoral program). If you are male, the public sector definitely wants and needs you. We have chosen to avoid the private schools because their contracts tend to be shorter than public with additional restrictions and we both like the idea of creating a public teaching community where people are educated in the field that they teach. It is by no means an easy career but one that can be most rewarding.

[dr_stones]

"Is a Ph. D. in Humanities suicide?"

No. Were it so, there would be job openings.

[dundee]

IF you pursue a Ph.D. in English, consider specializing in Rhetoric and Composition, as there seem to be more openings in that subfield than in the literature subfields.

[pink_]

IF you pursue a Ph.D. in English, consider specializing in Rhetoric and Composition, as there seem to be more openings in that subfield than in the literature subfields.

This is true, especially if you can get into one of the top programs.  Rhet/comp is the one field in English that actually has a reasonable supply/demand ratio.