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[4qmmt]

I have not gone back and read every thread, but I have a question: As an ABD in humanities, how has everyone found the job market?  From anecdotal evidence I have found that SCs usually treat us as, at best, third class citizens, and, at worst, the plague.  Despite my committees promises before God and country that I am on pace to finish a year or two ahead of the average for my field, I am finding that jobs are going to people with PhDs and not us lowly ABDs.  Do I just need to suck it up and deal, finish up and hope to be on the other end next year?

[larryc]

Do I just need to suck it up and deal, finish up and hope to be on the other end next year?

Yes.

[songsofexperience]

Hmmm. 20 apps. 3 conference interviews and so far no campus interviews. At one place I applied I found out that they had 120 applications and only interviewed those with PhD in hand so even the very best ABDs were weeded out in the first round.

It will be better when we finish. I've been teaching for 2 years at a pretty good college as a visiting fellow and I adjuncted for a year (at the same time) at an even better college so I have lots of my own classes under my belt which I think has helped me when it comes to getting interviews.

I think it can be hard for SCs when faced with good ABDs and "so-so" PhDs. Would you rather hire a brand new PhD with no teaching experience other than TAing or an ABD with 2 years of solid teaching? Also, does school play into it? I'm at an Ivy and have some big hitters on my committee but it hasn't exactly landed me every interview and every job. So many factors go into the decision. I don't feel as though I've been treated like a 3rd class citizen although I did notice that in each of my interviews, those in attendance played "good cop, bad cop." I had 3 people in each meeting with me and 2 were nice and 1 looked bored and was "mean." Maybe it's a ploy . . . .

I do know ABDs who've been hired for tt positions so it does happen. If nothing pans out this year, we need to finish our dissertations and try again next year.

Good luck.

[t_r_b]

I have not gone back and read every thread, but I have a question: As an ABD in humanities, how has everyone found the job market?  From anecdotal evidence I have found that SCs usually treat us as, at best, third class citizens, and, at worst, the plague.  Despite my committees promises before God and country that I am on pace to finish a year or two ahead of the average for my field, I am finding that jobs are going to people with PhDs and not us lowly ABDs.  Do I just need to suck it up and deal, finish up and hope to be on the other end next year?

In answer to your last question, what larryc said.

In answer to your first, I found that SCs treated me with all the respect and courtesy I could desire, and certainly not as a third-class citizen. I also found that they were eager to hear in detail about my timetable for completion, and in particular about whether I'd be able to complete on time and be ready to start teaching full-time in September. As one faculty member I met (not in an interview) told me, they hear "I'm going to finish this summer" all the time, and it's understandable that they take such assurances with more than a grain of salt. I don't think there is anything disrespectful or stigmatizing about that: a department that hires an ABD is taking a gamble, and if they're smart they'll be cautious about it.

Also, your grad school pace relative to the average for your field is completely irrelevant. What matters is your defense date: whether you have one, and how soon it is. You and the SC will be happiest when the defense date is in the past.

[anon33]

They are not scarlet letters at all, in humanities.

Some of my friends got TT jobs in humanities at TOP 20 universities when they were ABDs.

Some others get nothing when they are (Ivy) ABDs.

Some still get nothing when they have (Ivy) PhD degrees.

All scenarios are possible.

[espagnole]

I agree that all scenarios are possible, and it just depends on the school and their particular situation. We are currently doing a search and one of our final candidates is ABD. He just happens to have more teaching experience, better recs, and more scholarly promise than many others in the pool with completed degrees. But as an ABD, you do have to really stand out to make it to the finals in most cases. I also know of some schools that eliminate ABD's automatically, but I disagree with this practice. One reason is that many schools end up hiring people who never complete the degree, forcing them to do another search, and so it is easier in their view to make a hard and fast rule not to hire ABD's.

[ingenue]

In a year or two when you have your Ph.D. you will send another post: "Why are all the good jobs going to ABDs?  It's not fair, I have my degree!"  The whole thing is a mystery, so just go with it.

[rosemarysbaby]

In a year or two when you have your Ph.D. you will send another post: "Why are all the good jobs going to ABDs?  It's not fair, I have my degree!"  The whole thing is a mystery, so just go with it.

Nicely sarcastic.

[svenc]

The whole thing is a mystery, so just go with it.

I'm not in history and this is probably somewhat field-specific (as a previous poster already mentioned), but I don't see the mystery: A Ph.D. is the degree that most professional academics are expected to hold, and is a requirement for tenure in most fields at most institutions.  Defending the dissertation shows that you can see the research process through to the end.  Schools are judged and ranked, in part, on the percentage of classes taught by instructors with a Ph.D. 

It's not that ABD is a bad thing, it's just that the Ph.D. is a good thing.  Applicants with Ph.D.s have an important credential that you still lack.   

In our field, ABDs are rarely hired into continuing positions, and many ads specify holding a Ph.D. by August or September as a requirement for the job.  I have no problem with it, in the same way that I don't want to fly with a pilot who "almost" has her license.  Yes, she may be as good as any other pilot out there, but I'll feel much more confident of that when she has her license in hand!

[ingenue]

In a year or two when you have your Ph.D. you will send another post: "Why are all the good jobs going to ABDs?  It's not fair, I have my degree!"  The whole thing is a mystery, so just go with it.

Nicely sarcastic.

Sorry, if I came off as really sarcastic. I was really just pointing out the ups and downs of the whole process.

But, after all, don't you think it is a little odd to complain about people who are actually more qualified getting jobs?

[ingenue]

Sven, The "mystery" is in that one year a lot of ABDs will get jobs, then the next year very few will.  This happens sometimes...

[bacardiandlime]

That's because the following year, Mr/Ms ABD (who they hired last year) still isn't finished. 'I'll submit this year' turned out to be total BS, and worse, he/she now uses the job as an EXCUSE for not finishing the damn thing (too busy now to work on it/so much stress/whatever).
The number of people I've seen who have bluffed their way into jobs or postdocs on the basis of being on the cusp of finishing their PhD (and 2+ years later, haven't) - if I were on a search committee, I'd be wary too.

[mended_drum]

I think that the answer to your question depends on several factors.  At my SLAC, we will interview and hire an ABD under two conditions:  1. the candidate receives the degree before the first date of employment in September, and 2. the candidate has significant teaching experience.  A candidate who claims a defense date of June or earlier is regarded positively, of August with some suspicion, and one who either has no scheduled defense or clearly will not finish by mid-August is not usually considered far along enough for us to hire.  A brilliant student who went through grad school on a non-teaching fellowship is also unlikely to be hired until he or she has a year or two of teaching experience.

In other words, it depends on what, exactly, "ABD" indicates about your progress and experience.

[jossfritz]

I disagree with the equation ABD="third class citizen." Finishing counts for something--indeed, the number of my cohort who didn't make it to orals, couldn't come up with a reasonable project, or just haven't tame the dissertation beast are many. We few, we happy few who actually jumped through every hoop should be viewed differently from those who haven't yet--just as those who have published have an edge on those who haven't and those who have taught have an edge on those who haven't, so those who have finished graduate school ought to have an edge over those who haven't. It's not an absolute advantage, but all those factors contribute to a committee's favorable view of a candidate.

That being said, this is my second year on the market--first year ABD, now PhD. I got interviews and campus visits last year and this year. Now, my impressions could be tainted by my own mindset having completed the dissertation, defended it, and had time to reflect on it, but I found the questioning much more challenging last year, as though some interviewers were probing pretty deep to see how thorough my work was. This year interviewers seemed much more deferential, following up on one of my answers with "Wow, I didn't know that" as opposed to "...but what about.....?" In other words, I felt that last year I was being asked to prove myself whereas this year with PhD in hand more interviewers approached me as their peer. Again this could just be the confidence that came with having the diss in the bag and a few other accomplishments since last year, but it may also at some level reflect the way some interviewers approach ABD as opposed to PhD.

[lingvojn]

grinnellns, how would your school view a candidate who is getting his/her PhD in a foreign country where the defense (which is actually the graduation) cannot be set until the committee has approved the dissertation?  Where I am, once the committee has approved your dissertation, you are done, but you won't get the actual degree until you defend.  You just have to get your dissertation printed and then later defend/graduate.  The defense for us is really a formality: it only lasts 45 minutes, and you receive your degree afterwards.  In that sense, it is more like a personal graduation ceremony than a defense.  So, how would ABD candidates going through this type of system be viewed by a North American SC?