I am a graduate student at a decent but not Leiterrific department. I am in the early stages of a dissertation on a topic that is really important to me, but the AOS that the dissertation places me in is not one of those popular ones that gets high representation among the job openings even under the best circumstances. Last year there were maybe five job ads that mentioned my area. I am worried that this year there will be fewer, maybe zero. I have ways of packaging myself which place me in a more popular AOS, but it's obvious that this is a slight stretch, and thus I take myself to be uncompetitive for the best jobs in that other AOS.
Here's my question. Is it wise to change my dissertation topic (and AOS) in light of what is in the JFP? I think I can formulate another dissertation project in one of the more popular AOS's. It would require me to assemble a new committee with a new director, and that would certainly be awkward but not impossible. The new project would be on something I'm far less invested in personally, and it would require me to start basically from scratch so far as research goes, but I am certain I could follow through with it.
Others I have discussed this with claimed that it's unwise to switch projects on the basis of JFP trends. They say that the job market changes from year to year, and that my current AOS could become more popular. (It would be great if it did, but I just don't see it happening.) Others tell me that my dissertation should represent what's most important to me, and that changing projects is some kind of "sell out" or failure of "integrity", but I don't know about this. Any advice?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
JFP Eve Advice Sought
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15 comments:
Obviously only you can decide, but I wouldn't switch if I were you.
(A) You don't know how job trends will change over the next few years.
(B) If you write a slam dunk dissertation then perhaps your "pedigree" (or lack thereof) will not matter as much; to the extent that your pedigree matters, I wouldn't think you really improve your situation by switching.
(C) There's the risk that if you switch to something that you're less invested in, you will lose heart.
(D) Think about taking some classes and/or writing some papers in other areas and/or getting some teaching assignments that allow you to develop some "marketable" AOC's. This can help you in lots of cases where your AOC's are as important to the hiring school as the AOS (where you may be teaching a broader range of classes than your AOS).
I agree with 9.48 above; it's not just that the JFP trends will change (and they will), but that the jobs being advertised are also jobs being *filled*. Something like aesthetics will probably never have as many openings as metaphysics; on the other hand, the pool of competitors for the aesthetics openings is smaller, and the set of proper fits that are hired may be as well. Or consider this: ethics has been hiring a lot these last several years, but it seems unlikely that pace is sustainable: they'll run into a glut at some point (or maybe that's just me falling prey to the gambler's fallacy... who knows).
The other thing to remember is how much better we work on projects that interest us--better, and also faster. Since you'll eventually be facing years of job market agony anyway, you may as well enjoy the ride there.
Finally, one last thing to remember: it may be possible to branch out in your dissertation to cover two areas (some topics are obviously better suited to this than others). In the example above, it would be perfectly feasible (actually, quite easy) to combine aesthetics and metaphysics into one project while cultivating attractive (but still specialty-related) AOCs. Perhaps some kind of AOS merger is a better option than starting over from scratch.
Is the topic in aesthetics? If so, switch now!
If you are willing to switch into applied or environmental ethics, or maybe comparative philosophy, then maybe you should switch. There are a lot of ads in those jobs, and, given undergraduate demand, I have to think that number of ads in this field would only increase. But otherwise, if you are talking about switching from Husserl to Plato or aesthetics to M&E, I probably wouldn't bother.
My advice: don't do it. As 9:48 & 10:03 point out, typically the most "marketable" AOS's are also the most competitive, so it doesn't make sense to switch into one of those areas just to be a small fish in a much bigger pond, especially if you lack the bona fides that the "big fish" at a Leiter school will have. Don't get caught up in that game; it's one you can't win.
In any case, the person who cares the most about your dissertation is you, so switching to a topic that doesn't interest you is akin to suicide.
Here's a paraphrase of advice I got as grad student at a "non-Leiterific" school: The most important quality of a dissertation is that it is a project you can stand behind; the second most important quality is its doneness. Those two features tell in favor of sticking to your guns and finishing the project.
So instead of switching, focus on making yourself more marketable by teaching desirable courses, e.g. applied ethics, and publishing in areas related to your disseration (as suggested above).
I agree with the advice given so far. It's hard enough writing a dissertation on something you are genuinely interested in. Here are some alternatives to changing dissertation topics.
1. Include one chapter in your dissertation that branches into a side area. (E.g. if your dissertation is in feminism, include a chapter in feminist epistemology that deals with issues in mainstream epistemology.)
2. Develop a side project in another area that interests you. If you can write one good, substantial paper that you can include as a writing sample, and possibly even publish, you may get away with claiming it as a second AOS.
3. Develop a teaching competence in one or more areas that are in demand as such. Perhaps volunteer to teach a course in an area that will force you to learn something new.
As with the dissertation itself, it is best with any of these suggestions if it is something you are genuinely interested in.
I think this is all bad advice if your diss topic is something that's not simply out of fashion but systematically off the beaten path (e.g., a diss on, say, Whitehead's philosophy of education). If you're talking about an area that's even in good economic times not generally needed, switch if you can.
Don't switch topics! You need to truly love what you do in order to be successful in philosophy.
And when the market rejects you, just please get out of our faces quietly, you loser.
I concur with all the 'Don't!' advice.
I would also stress that most positions are not at R-1s.
This means that the folks hiring will be as much, possibly more, interested in what you can teach as in what your dissertation topic is (was, by the time you are really on the market).
Spreading your skills out from the diss or just into in-demand teaching areas can be very useful.
No matter what your dissertation/AOS, you need some good AOC to be competitive at most schools, as you will be teaching in many areas. If that AOC can be incorporated into your dissertation, as someone suggested, so much the better.
E.g., if your first love really is aesthetics, add competencies in feminist aesthetics or aesthetics and cog sci, both additions that address strong interests both in aesthetics and elsewhere.
I would encourage caution with regard to those discouraging you from changing dissertation topics, and for the following reasons:
1) We don't know what your AOS is. If you're working in an area that's not fashionable this year, that's one thing. But if your AOS is an area that no hiring committee's cared about in 20 years, that's different. It matters a lot if you want to get a job at a four-year institution.
2) Is your dissertation topic the only philosophical topic about which you get excited? I doubt it. One of the great things about philosophy is that there are so many interesting things going-on in so many different areas. I'm writing a dissertation and have a passion for my topic. But, truth be told, there are a number of other topics on which I could be happily working.
Bottom-line: do some research on job-market placements for non-Leiterific people in your AOS. If the results don't bode well for your professional aspirations, then I'd recommend, first, expanding your topic to include a more marketable AOS. If that's not feasible, then your second best option is to consider switching to a different area altogether. And if you do that, you're not obviously "selling-out." Rather, you're trying to reconcile your philosophical interests with the realities of getting a job teaching philosophy.
Anon 9:48 here.
I hadn't exactly thought about Anon 4:42's point..."if your diss topic is something that's not simply out of fashion but systematically off the beaten path (e.g., a diss on, say, Whitehead's philosophy of education)..." ...and I'm not sure I agree. If you diss topic is obscure it's something to consider. But that would have been true anyhow (even putting aside job considerations; you'd have to justify such a project to your advisor and committee).
I'm not the person who posed the original question, but I am in a similar spot. Seriously, what should I do if there are *no* jobs in the JFP in (what will be) my AOS? Last year there were a few ads that identified my area as a desired AOC (usually one among a longish list), but none looking for my area as an AOS.
I have more time and writing invested in my dissertation project (I reckon I'm half way), but I am going to change horses entirely if this JFP has no ads for my AOS.
I thought there was no smoking at Philosophers Anonymous.
PA: Nice!
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