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[burnspau]

Good morning,

I am a second-year PhD student in English at a Midwestern university. I have also been an adjunct instructor at a small private school for the past five years (note: my stipend has not changed since I began as an adjunct). The school where I adjunct recently created a new position: director of the Academic Skills Center/Writing Center (it should actually be two full-time positions, but the budget won't allow it right now). I applied for this position at the urging of the department chair (he encouraged all adjunct instructors to apply for it).

Well, I never imagined that they would offer the position to me (note: my interview did not go well, in my opinion). However, they did make me an offer. After careful consideration (I agonized about it for more than a week and visited with both professors from the small private college, my PhD university, and close friends/family), I decided to decline the offer. Although the job would have provided me with a generous salary/benefits and would have meant much less driving time (I have to travel 45 miles to the university daily), I decided to remain focused on my doctoral studies. I still have three more years of coursework, written/oral exams, and my dissertation/defense to look forward to, and I don't want to lose sight of my ultimate goal, which is to teach at the college level.

However, one day later, I'm having "buyer's remorse" and feel like I have made a huge mistake. There was some chance that they Academic Skills Center director position could have turned into a full-time faculty position; however, there was no guarantee that it would happen. Plus, the position is brand new and was very vague in terms of time commitment and responsibilities. I just didn't feel comfortable taking on such a challenge at this point in my academic career.

Bottom line: Have I made a huge mistake in not taking this position? Have I ruined my chances of ever getting a faculty position at this school (my dream job)? It's so hard in this economy to turn down a position like this!

Thank you!!

Regretting Her Choice in the Midwest

[grasshopper]

I feel for you. You opted for high-risk/high-yield over slow and stead wins the race. It's very scary, especially with the few employment opportunities in English Lit.


But here are two things you can console yourself with:

I could be very, very wrong here, but I don't think that admin positions often lead to full-time tt faculty positions. You might be able to continue adjuncting, but since you'd be working two full-time jobs for the price of one, you probably wouldn't have the time to even adjunct.

In the three institutions whose Writing Centers I'm familiar with, the director positions rotate like revolving doors. If this is what you want, similar positions will become available again, if not at this particular institution, then at another. I would be surprised if this was a one-time deal.

[erictho]

If you had taken that full-time position, you would likely never have finished your PhD. If your goal is the PhD (with all the risks on the job market that that entails), you did the right thing.

And on preview, what grasshopper said.

[kedves]

You have chosen the right path in every way.  You turned down what is no doubt an interesting and rewarding job--for someone else.  It's a distinct career path, from what I've seen, not one that leads to tt jobs.  I wish they could pay you more to adjunct, but that is temporary.  Taking this job would have been a impediment to your goals.  You should feel good about your self-awareness, interview skills, and judgement.

[snowbound]

If you are qualified enough and experienced enough to get offered such a position now, other positions like it will open up in the future that you will have a good shot at.  Composition-type jobs are far easier to find than lit jobs--just check the MLA or CHE job listings.  So you haven't used up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If you had taken the job and kissed your PhD plans goodbye, it's highly possible you would have regretted it all your life.  "What if . . .?" you'd always be asking, as you gazed enviously at new colleagues hired into TT lit teaching jobs at your institution and others. "Maybe that could have been me . . "

So give the PhD the very best shot you have, and maybe it will work out for you.  If you think you might be happy in a Writing Center job, try to keep that avenue open by getting involved in comp stuff, presenting at a CCCC conference, and maybe doing as minor in Rhet/Comp--all of which would serve you in good stead in a tight job market for any English job, since most lit teachers teach comp too..

[larryc]

What is the point in even thinking about this? The past is not coming back, so focus on the tasks at hand.

[saguaro]

What is the point in even thinking about this? The past is not coming back, so focus on the tasks at hand.

Life would be so much easier if only we could actually follow this advice!

[missemily]

The school where I adjunct recently created a new position: director of the Academic Skills Center/Writing Center (it should actually be two full-time positions, but the budget won't allow it right now).

This job, which you know should actually be two jobs, would have sucked you dry. You definitely made the right decision. Now concentrate on finishing your PhD.

[pink_]

I think that this scenario is one in which the old adage about buying cows vs. drinking the milk for free.  If you had accepted this position as an MA, it is unlikely that you would ever finished your Ph.D., and the administration would never have converted the position.  You probably would have had job security, but if you are even slightly a typical grad student, you would have always wondered what if.  I don't think that there is a right or wrong choice here, but I would have made the same choice that you made.  Trust yourself.  If you want a job as a writing center director, there will be positions available, and you will be an even more competitive candidate.  But if you will also have more options.

Hang in there. 

[jacaranda_]

If you think you might be happy in a Writing Center job, try to keep that avenue open by getting involved in comp stuff, presenting at a CCCC conference, and maybe doing as minor in Rhet/Comp--all of which would serve you in good stead in a tight job market for any English job, since most lit teachers teach comp too..

This is very good advice, as it will open up your job prospects considerably.  Full-time faculty with the PhD who are hired to head up a Writing Center often get a very nice gig in terms of salary and teaching load.  I've noticed a ton of job postings for this kind of position on the CHE listings, and at my previous school, the department had a hard time landing someone, and she had the luxury of leaving for a R1 school after only a year.  It may be the rare case of a "buyer's market."  I agree with others that this is no big tragedy, but since you obviously have some strengths in this area, develop them.  Perhaps you could take a position like this when you are wrapping up the diss and waiting to land a tt-job.  It will be professional experience that will definitely look good to any institution that places greater emphasis on teaching than research.

[new_bus_prof]

Oh, don't worry about it. There will plenty of other things along that way to make you rethink and reexamine why the bloody H you are spending X years getting your PhD, living on a shoestring budget, when you could be living a normal comfortable life in a normal comfortable but non-exciting job.

[comp_queen]

What everyone else is saying.  By staying with the PhD, even given the awful awful awfulness of the job market in our field, you are finishing what you started.  That in and of itself is much to be proud of.

And definitely there is more turnover/mobility in writing center/study skills center/et al. jobs than in faculty positions.  This was not your last chance to do this kind of work, should your future desires change.

Good luck!

[rhinah]

Since July 2009 I have been regretting declining a job offer, my reason was that I had a lot of work to do for my PhD and I had a scholarship which could expire the following year and the supervising team needed my commitment meaning to be at school on regular basis.After having a discussion with the project leader of the team I was going to work with, it was said that I must not get a day off or any leave unless I last a year in that job as it was a contract assessment of 12 months,meaning on probation.I was also told that If possible, I can be given a high permanent position after that probation.I reevaluated the situation and found that no one in the team was still studying and all have either a three or four-year degree,so it was hard for me to accept the job coz I saw that it will mean dropping out of my PhD.Right now my PhD is progressing well and I'm hoping to graduate soon.After reading all the comments above I feel at ease coz you guys are very positive, comforting and very encouraring.I saw myselfr as a failure but you gave me hope of believing in myself.Thank you guys.