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[all_my_frenemies]

I have funding through the end of next year, if necessary.

[dellaroux]

Which part of France are you half-past? (Meet-ups in Paris in January?)

Bonne sejour--

[higherandhigher]

ABDs who are intending to defend this academic year should, in my opinion, go on the job market (with realistic expectations). Yes, the chance of an ABD getting a TT position at this stage is not good. However, TT positions are not the only positions advertised. There are also VAP/lecturer/instructor positions with 1-3 year terms. Some of those apps are due now; some will come due next semester. It is foolish not to apply. One never knows what a search committee actually wants, and there's an element of luck in the whole search process. In much of the humanities/social sciences there aren't the same sort of post-doc opportunities as there are in other fields (there are some teaching/Mellon postdocs, etc., but the number is still pretty limited). Once the basic cover letter, CV, and recs are written, it doesn't take all that much effort to apply to an additional position.

[berkeleygirl]

Great advice higherandhigher, thank you.

[dr_prephd]

ABDs who are intending to defend this academic year should, in my opinion, go on the job market (with realistic expectations).

Yes, this is pretty much the standard advice as written in The Academic Job Search Handbook, which is often touted as the job search bible by those on these fora. Unless you've got funding for a post-diss year (or are in a field with post-doc opportunities), you pretty much have to go on the market ABD.

I think it is naive to believe that all fields or institutions or SCs are looking for a traditional PhD (which is what I was getting at with my previous post, and which is often the fallback assumption on these boards). There are many applied fields where professional experience is valued just as much if not more so than academic experience, and the PhD is just a nice bonus. On the other hand, there are many other fields where the PhD is expected, as well as significant amounts of research, publication, and presentation (which are probably represented by a majority of posters on the fora).

Yes, the job market is brutal. ABDs are, in many fields, at a disadvantage. But that doesn't mean that one shouldn't set one's sights on jobs for which one has a realistic chance of being competitive. There are plenty of ads (in my field at least) to which I wouldn't dream of applying. There are also plenty to which I'm well-suited. Out of several hundred listings (no joke), I've applied to maybe a dozen for which I meet all the specifications set forth in the ad. I'm not hopping a shooting star here, I'm carefully calculating my next professional move.  

And, the most important point, I think, is whether one has a back-up Plan B. Anyone on the academic job market would be an idiot to apply only to academic jobs as an ABD without a back-up plan, whether that plan is another year of funding, doing a post-doc, searching for a job in industry, waiting tables, or working at Starbucks.

[prof_smartypants]

ABDs who are intending to defend this academic year should, in my opinion, go on the job market (with realistic expectations). Yes, the chance of an ABD getting a TT position at this stage is not good. However, TT positions are not the only positions advertised.

YES! When I was ABD last year, I got two campus interviews for TT positions. BOTH went to internal candidates who were currently in non-tt positions. One liked me so much that they hired me on a 3-year non-tt contract. This happens A LOT.

Don't listen to people (advisors, mentors, friends, family) who tell you to only apply for TT positions (or R1 positions, or whatever). Apply for everything. Post-docs, grant funding, VAPs, etc. I got this advice throughout my doctoral studies and lucky for me, I ignored it.

Also, don't panic. Most of the jobs you're seeing right now are for TT positions (and those crazy competitive post-doc fellowships). The VAPs, replacement positions, and a LOT of other post-doc opportunities won't be posted until the Spring. I applied for a post doc last year that wasn't posted until mid-April.

I'm on the market again this year looking only at TT positions. I'm in a great location at a good (albeit intense) job. This year, I'm a MUCH stronger candidate than I was last year, and a much stronger candidate than almost any ABD in my field that I'm competing with. Had I taken most of the advice I got, I'd probably still be at PhD institution trying to piece together a salary by adjuncting and taking on piecemeal research work (if I was lucky!)

[higherandhigher]

Don't listen to people (advisors, mentors, friends, family) who tell you to only apply for TT positions (or R1 positions, or whatever). Apply for everything. Post-docs, grant funding, VAPs, etc. I got this advice throughout my doctoral studies and lucky for me, I ignored it.

I think this is key. There's no reason *not* to apply for TT positions, but an ABD candidate has to realize that the chance of actually getting the TT is limited. Casting a wide net is really important.
I've seen VAP positions advertised as late as July for the following academic year. There's always hope!

[berkeleygirl]

Great advice prephd and prof_smartpants.  I was pleased that there were a few VAP positions I could apply for already this year. Some of my classmates are being picky about where they apply, not me.  I am applying to anything and everything that I qualify for, regardless of the location or school.  I just want a paycheck next year, be it from a university or not.  I have worked in two other fields (one non-academic and one research based) for years, and I can always return to either.  It is good to know that there will be more VAPs and sabbatical replacement ads in the Spring.  

[prof_smartypants]

Great advice prephd and prof_smartpants.  I was pleased that there were a few VAP positions I could apply for already this year. Some of my classmates are being picky about where they apply, not me.  I am applying to anything and everything that I qualify for, regardless of the location or school.  I just want a paycheck next year, be it from a university or not.  I have worked in two other fields (one non-academic and one research based) for years, and I can always return to either.  It is good to know that there will be more VAPs and sabbatical replacement ads in the Spring.  

This is also key, and I pissed off my recommenders for applying to jobs they didn't think I'd get, didn't think I'd want, etc. I applied to everything because at the very least, I wanted the experience of interviewing, etc. Thank goodness I did! I had a couple of phone interviews that went terribly. Neither job interested me much, but I was so happy I'd had a chance to practice my phone interviewing skills on jobs that weren't my "dream job". I also had a early (October) campus visit that went well, but there were definitely a few stumbling blocks. When the SC called to say they liked me, but gave the job to someone else, he also gave me a LOT of great advice regarding what they were looking for in their answers. It came down to experience (they had an internal; I was ABD), but the feedback was fantastic. Now, when dream job calls, I'll be ready.

[firstgeneration]

This thread has provided such valuable perspective.  Thanks to the veterans who have posted, and I hope my fellow ABDs will continue to report their milestones over the months to come.

[timurid]

Just curious, how many ABDs on here are finishing this year vs. "could finish next year"?

If you mean "this academic year," then I am.
I will almost certainly graduate in the spring... worst case, in the summer.

I understand the problems with going on the market fresh out of comps, but I don't see any alternative to being on the market while in our final year ABD. We are not like new JD's or MBA's who have a year-round stream of job openings in their field or like new MD's whose numbers are carefully controlled and who are matched in a refereed process to a like number of entry level jobs. Like those other students, most of us do graduate in the spring, but almost all of the jobs we need have an extremely long lead time between application deadlines and actual hire dates, are only posted in a very short window (the fall) and have starting dates within an even tighter time frame (late August/early September). If you are not on the market before graduation, you are guaranteeing yourself a wasted year.

Of course the pessimists in this thread are suggesting that virtually all new graduates are guaranteed a wasted year no matter what they do and that our best course of action back in September was not to open up the CHE job listings and the Wiki... but to go out to our cars, open up the trunk and start clearing space for what will be our office in the coming year on the adjunct trail...

[grasshopper]

Of course the pessimists in this thread are suggesting that virtually all new graduates are guaranteed a wasted year no matter what they do and that our best course of action back in September was not to open up the CHE job listings and the Wiki... but to go out to our cars, open up the trunk and start clearing space for what will be our office in the coming year on the adjunct trail...

Oh, for the love of...

Nobody said that. There is a world that exists somewhere between black and white. Everybody knows that we have to apply while ABD. But it also behooves us to be aware that we are royally screwed, and that very few of us will get a tt job next year.

A lot of VAP positions come open in the Spring (especially with the tt folk making lateral moves). That's where I'm pinning my star.

But, of course, like everybody else, I'm still applying for those tt jobs. Just not affixing my unicorn stickers to the moving boxes just yet.

[timurid]

Of course the pessimists in this thread are suggesting that virtually all new graduates are guaranteed a wasted year no matter what they do and that our best course of action back in September was not to open up the CHE job listings and the Wiki... but to go out to our cars, open up the trunk and start clearing space for what will be our office in the coming year on the adjunct trail...

Oh, for the love of...

Nobody said that. There is a world that exists somewhere between black and white. Everybody knows that we have to apply while ABD. But it also behooves us to be aware that we are royally screwed, and that very few of us will get a tt job next year.

A lot of VAP positions come open in the Spring (especially with the tt folk making lateral moves). That's where I'm pinning my star.

But, of course, like everybody else, I'm still applying for those tt jobs. Just not affixing my unicorn stickers to the moving boxes just yet.

To be fair, I am well on my way to being one of the pessimists in this thread...
[FROWNY FACE EMOTICON DELETED]

[polly_mer]

Of course the pessimists in this thread are suggesting that virtually all new graduates are guaranteed a wasted year no matter what they do and that our best course of action back in September was not to open up the CHE job listings and the Wiki... but to go out to our cars, open up the trunk and start clearing space for what will be our office in the coming year on the adjunct trail...

Did you read the last page about BACK-UP PLANS?  You need multiply redundant back-up plans. 

That's why instead of posting about rainbows, kittens, and unicorn stickers on this thread for your two TT applications out the door this week, you need to get your hiney over to the post-doc board, read the advice there, and ask pointed questions about your application for that fantastic opportunity you just saw advertised.

Instead of expecting a pat on the head here for those five VAP applications last week, you need to get your hiney over to the research board, read the advice, and then ask about how to write the proposal to turn your dissertation into a book.

Go read the teaching threads to figure out how you are going to answer the hard questions about handling your classroom and making sure that your teaching philosophy documents reflect your best efforts.


Blowing off steam is fine; visit any one of game threads and jump right in.  For the record, I warn against spending too much time here because I did it and know the trade-off of doing something that feels like progress but in actuality is not.  However, like Grasshopper, as a result of my thousands of posts here, I not only picked up a lot of excellent advice by reading and interacting, but I made friends who formed a network helping me get my materials in order, sent me job listings, and made me a stronger candidate by kicking me in the butt when I needed it.

By all means, join in as an active member of this community while you are looking for a job, but expand out to get the full benefit of the fora experience and don't get so carried away defending your unicorn stickers that you lose sight of the fact that the goal is to get a job, whether through spectacular scholarship or lucky networking, instead of being awarding the Spirit Prize.

Keep plugging away during this time and come here for help and support.  We do feel for you since we are/have been/will be in your position.  However, many of us are much more willing to say, "Buck up.  You'll find something", to someone with whom we feel a connection as an up-and-coming scholar and real person instead of a head-in-the-sand, unicorn-stickering cheerleader.

Luck favors the prepared.  You can't win if you don't try so definitely send out those TT applications with your best materials.  But HAVE BACK-UP PLANS and DON'T WASTE MENTAL ENERGY HERE WHEN YOU COULD BE DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE!

Come here when you are already brain-fried and play games.  It's better that way.

[prof_smartypants]

I also think it's a bad idea to use terms like a "wasted year". A VAP or lectureship or postdoc is not a "wasted year".
I'm not even halfway through my first year as a non-tt faculty member, and I can't believe how much I've learned. I've had to teach three different core courses, get thrown headfirst into classroom management, crying undergrads, make up exams, departmental politics, etc. I've also managed to send out a couple of articles for publication. This is by no means a "wasted year" just because I'm not on the TT (although I know plenty of people at my R1 PhD institution who would say it is).

Should you get your head around spending a year NOT on the tenure track? Absolutely, but if you think it's just a stepping stone or a waste of your time, you're going to be in for a world of hurt.