I just had a quick read through the JFP. Wow. I'm glad I have a cushy job...
I loved the one department that is hiring for "philosophical psychology," but explicitly does not want a cognitive scientist!
Feel free to bitch.
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6 comments:
I do feel for those going on the market...
Brooks,
Ah... you old softie.
So, what do all the folks doing phil. of mind do for another year?
Sit on their hands? Work in bars?
I'm genuinely curious.
Anon 2:07
Working in a bar isn't all that bad an option, if forced to sit on one's hands. It's probably one of the few sorts of jobs that a) remain relatively unaffected in economic downturns (Drink up, people!) and b) can cover the rent while leaving sufficient time for writing.
One thing worth considering, in my view, is whether or not adjuncting all over the place while biding one's time is truly worth it. I've seen a whole lot of people chewed to pieces by doing this. Teaching decimates research time on the whole, and adjunct teaching decimates the psyche in addition to whatever research plans people have. It's probably better to teach only one course to keep up one's chops, and do something like bar tending, technical writing, painting houses, tutor for SAT prep courses, whatever--so long as it's a job one doesn't take home (grading, prepping). I used to make a lot of money on the side coaching and instructing in a sport. Thinking about rent-paying jobs the way people in the arts do is really helpful. I guess the point is to be as resourceful as possible to protect your "art." Artists, dancers and musicians don't have a huge exploitative adjunct system to get trapped in--they make it work on the fly. I find this is a good way to approach the problem.
When I coached there were a number of benefits. Besides being a cool thing to do that *wasn't philosophy*, I also didn't feel entirely owned by the company store. There's a lot to be said for this. If you can do something outside philosophy and get paid fairly well for it, you can maintain some distance from whatever issues plague the business end of the field. Maybe just having a sense that there really are other things one can do helps keep an overwhelming feeling of being exploited at bay. At one point, I was able to walk away from an unethical "bait-and-switch" job offer (a 4/4 that somehow magically transformed into a 5/5) because I knew perfectly well that I could make money doing something else while waiting for a job. The bait-and-switch dept. was counting on desperation. But that's how I think the whole mess works--the desperation and good will of a majority of adjunct instructors is counted upon. A majority of instructors feel deeply committed to doing their very best as educators once they are teaching courses. Moreover, once "in the system" one wants good peer-reviews and student evals to move ahead in the system. It isn't in one's interest to do a mediocre job even if one feels exploited economically by that very system. So, stay out of the system as much as possible. And make sure that any courses you teach are taught well (when "in system").
Spiros: guilty as charged!
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