next »

[systeme_d_]

She had been working as a special-purpose employee for a year while ABD. 

She found her special purpose!

(Sorry.  Quote from The Jerk.  Not me, the movie with Steve Martin.)

[profpinata]

Thanks, all, much appreciated.

[gamera]

I'm going to be a voice of dissent here and say that you don't necessarily need a PHD, because I'm actually an MFA who has a TT position at a 4-year college.  I mostly teach freshman composition and creative writing, but I also teach some literature surveys.

I realize that my story is fairly unique: I've received two TT offers in two years, first at a community college and then at a 4-year regional university, all with my much maligned MFA in Creative Writing and only minor publications, which makes me a bit of a unicorn in the land of academia.

In my experience schools like to employee MFAs as adjuncts simply because we have a "terminal" degree, yet we don't have much of a chance of getting a TT position.  We're basically stuck.  But the trick for me was to find a niche:  distance learning.

I had a former career as an IT professional and a web designer, so building courses for distance learning platforms came very naturally to me.  I've been doing so since graduate school, and I'm now (perceived by my colleagues to be, anyway) a distance learning expert.

Am I saying that every MFA'er should learn CSS and XHTML?  No.  But it helped me.  In this job market, everyone needs to stand out for a reason-- whether you're a PHD holder or an MFA'er.

I do think that if all OP wants to do is teach literature, she doesn't need anything beyond her MFA-- what she/he needs to do is set her/his sights on a community college teaching position.  

[der_gadfly]

Adding to gamera, I might add that the MFA in creative writing could also translate into full time administrative slot with some teaching duties.

[pink_]

Gamera,
You are incorrect.
If the OP wants only to teach literature, s/he needs a degree in literary studies.  The MFA is a degree in craft.  Our MFAs will offer an occasional literature class, but their primary teaching duties are writing workshops: composition, intro to creative writing, writing workshops.

To be competitive in this job market for a literature position, one needs a Ph.D., and not just any Ph.D., but a Ph.D. from the absolute best program that accepts you.  And even still, there are plenty of talented Ph.D.'s who can't land a TT job.

There have been several posts about the CC job market, which is a bit different from 4yr institutions, and Zarathustra and Pry would be better equipped to address such particulars, but the upshot is that CC's are no less rigorous than 4yr institutions in either their hiring practices and their day-to-day responsibilities.  Things are a bit different, but not necessarily easier.  CC's also require a certain number of credit hours in their subject (typically 18, and most MFA students do not have 18 hr in literary studies)

[gamera]

Gamera,
You are incorrect.
If the OP wants only to teach literature, s/he needs a degree in literary studies.  The MFA is a degree in craft.  Our MFAs will offer an occasional literature class, but their primary teaching duties are writing workshops: composition, intro to creative writing, writing workshops.

To be competitive in this job market for a literature position, one needs a Ph.D., and not just any Ph.D., but a Ph.D. from the absolute best program that accepts you.  And even still, there are plenty of talented Ph.D.'s who can't land a TT job.

There have been several posts about the CC job market, which is a bit different from 4yr institutions, and Zarathustra and Pry would be better equipped to address such particulars, but the upshot is that CC's are no less rigorous than 4yr institutions in either their hiring practices and their day-to-day responsibilities.  Things are a bit different, but not necessarily easier.  CC's also require a certain number of credit hours in their subject (typically 18, and most MFA students do not have 18 hr in literary studies)

I don't know.  My MFA program isn't unique in that it's a 60-credit curriculum that requires 18 credits of literature.  I came out with an MFA that included 70 total credits and 21 credits of literature.  I presently teach literature classes at a 4-year institution.  Granted, literature isn't my primary teaching responsibility, but I could teach more sections if I wanted.

And as for CC jobs --- I've worked as a TT professor at the largest 2-year school in my state.  I've been on over five search committees at the CC I've mentioned and so I like to think I have an idea as to the hiring practices of CCs in general. 

I was just trying to say that OP can teach literature with an MFA and 18-credit hours of lit.  OP /can/ definitely get a job teaching literature at a 2-year.  I did it.  And the PHD in lit isn't necessary for a 2-year.  In fact, in some ways, it can be a disadvantage imho.

YMMV

[pink_]

And the PHD in lit isn't necessary for a 2-year.  In fact, in some ways, it can be a disadvantage imho.

Yes, this is true--the OP may want to attempt the search function on CC threads in the Job Market sector of the forum. The problem is, however, that in the last 2 years, market conditions have changed drastically.  There are literally thousands of unemployed English Ph.D.s, so hiring conditions in most areas are receiving more and more applications for these kinds of jobs, and as long as that trend holds, it will be difficult for someone without a degree in literary studies to make the cut.  Now, certainly there are parts of the country and kinds of jobs that are less-attractive to the masses of job applications.  But even our local 2yr college which has a 5-5 load and is generally in one of the less-desirable regions, attracted swarms of applications for their recent search.  This is probably not true for every school and every job, but it does reflect that the times, they are a'changin.

If the OP wants to do both: teach writing and literature, it is certainly possible that s/he can do it with an MFA.  But I read the OPs posts as suggesting that s/he didn't want to teach writing but instead wanted a literature position, in which case, while it still might be possible in theory, in practice it is much less likely.  Especially under current market conditions which don't seem likely to change anytime soon.