Here we go again
The MLA job list is out, so the cycle of application-letter drudgery, Ivy League pipe dreams, and finger-crossing about a job market with all the logic and predictability of an ADD-suffering rhesis monkey has begun again.
The difference is that this time I have a job already. Well, a job of sorts. Part of the reason that I'm applying this year (though, I contend to salvage some moral high ground) is that I'm making roughly $20,000 less than I would at a second-rate state university or a comparable liberal arts college. I've been salivating over the prospect of living in a city, living in the same place as my partner, having health benefits, and teaching less composition. A library and graduate students are gravy. And that magical three-keystroke quasi-mathematical phrase: 2/2. TWO-TWO! Ah, how it stokes the fires of my lust. To be spared the soul-sapping burthen of two sections of comp plus one or two more preps per day!
The ironies are manifold, of course. To begin with, being on the job market takes even more time away from all the activities that would make me more attractive on the job market. And weirdly, this week I find that teaching first-year composition, with its lazy-river "what does this word mean?" pace is what is keeping me sane. It's the course for English majors and the research that's driving me batty--just what I can look forward to more of if I get a "better" job.
But it will be a better job. I've got eight applications out now and I get to ignore the bad ones. Wahoo. There's a real benefit to be applying from a position of having a job, any job.
The difference is that this time I have a job already. Well, a job of sorts. Part of the reason that I'm applying this year (though, I contend to salvage some moral high ground) is that I'm making roughly $20,000 less than I would at a second-rate state university or a comparable liberal arts college. I've been salivating over the prospect of living in a city, living in the same place as my partner, having health benefits, and teaching less composition. A library and graduate students are gravy. And that magical three-keystroke quasi-mathematical phrase: 2/2. TWO-TWO! Ah, how it stokes the fires of my lust. To be spared the soul-sapping burthen of two sections of comp plus one or two more preps per day!
The ironies are manifold, of course. To begin with, being on the job market takes even more time away from all the activities that would make me more attractive on the job market. And weirdly, this week I find that teaching first-year composition, with its lazy-river "what does this word mean?" pace is what is keeping me sane. It's the course for English majors and the research that's driving me batty--just what I can look forward to more of if I get a "better" job.
But it will be a better job. I've got eight applications out now and I get to ignore the bad ones. Wahoo. There's a real benefit to be applying from a position of having a job, any job.
posted by James at 5:15 PM
2 Comments:
Good luck with the process. I am firming up my application materials now. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but of course the bad part hasn't started yet. Perhaps we could meet up at MLA for a drink. It'd be nice to meet in person. And, btw, if you would feel comfortable sharing job market tips, particularly for letter writing and the like, I'd be very interested. It always helps to hear from people who have done this before.
I'd be happy to meet up at MLA for a drink. I'll need all the meeting up for drinks I can get. Of course, as you probably know, the MLA is a tough place to socialize, even with everyone you know in attendance.
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