Yesterday, I had the dubious “pleasure” of chatting with someone about a full time application. No callback, but perhaps some adjunct work was available. I spoke with the chair, who informed me that without a Ph.D., I will never get a full time job at that particular institution, and most likely, no institutions within the tri-state area. Wow, that was nice and bleak.
Erin Bartram discussed grief in her viral blog post when she realized the career she’d prepared so long for was not going to happen. Perhaps foolishly, the MFA had given me some new hope. It is still an accomplishment, but now it means that there are new thoughts to consider. If I obtain a Ph.D., there is still no guarantee of a job in academia. On the other hand, it may open new possibilities that are not available now.
Time to take a long, hard look at some things. Ideally, I’d prefer to be a full time writer, but that’s not usually a viable career path on its own. On the plus side, I’ll be establishing my business very soon as a writer/editor/researcher. (Have to fill out and return some paperwork.) This is an area where I can help individuals and businesses. I’ll keep working on my novel and move toward realizing my goal of getting published, reading job listings and see what fits, both inside and outside higher education.
I have options, though it may take some creativity to uncover them. Here’s hoping creativity really pays off, in more ways than one.
