Worst Professor Ever

Having anything for today’s readers is entirely thanks to my guest blogger, Caroline Roberts. Barely had I finished issuing my invitation for her to talk about her decision to leave grad school when she returned this fantastic post. Yay!

In addition to being an accomplished freelancer, Caroline is one half of the writing duo behind Post Academic, a blog that admirably bridges the gap between academic and non-academic workplaces, giving great advice to academic job hunters, post-academics in transition, and people who just like professors in movies. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Caroline in person, and believe me when I say she’s someone you should listen to — friendly, helpful, and best of all, happy!

When WoPro asked me to write about my decision to leave an English PhD program before I finished, her timing was excellent. I made the leap from the ivory tower to the office world almost 10 years ago. I’ve had a long time to think about my decision, and I can tell you this: I did the right thing for me.

Since it’s been 10 years, I am going to cover 10 questions I heard after I declared my intention to quit. Maybe my responses can motivate you to leave grad school and pursue a career elsewhere. Or, if you’ve already made that move, my responses can help you explain your decisions to puzzled friends and family members.

1. Why did you leave grad school?

Primary Reason: In my second year of grad school, I started getting sick on a regular basis. I’ve chronicled this over at the Post Academic blog. I wasn’t eating well, I wasn’t sleeping and even the students in my comp class told me I should take a break once they saw me coughing up a lung during a bout with bronchitis. The life of the mind was taking a toll on my body.

Secondary Reason: My undergrad advisors had been clear that it wasn’t easy getting a job, so I decided to apply to go to grad school only if I got into a good program. I did get in, and I got enough funding to avoid loans, so I thought I had a better shot at an academic career than most. My logic was sound, until I saw people who were far smarter than me having trouble getting jobs, not to mention respect, an all-important intangible that I will discuss later in this post.

2. Tell the truth. Did you flunk out? Or were you just not able to hack it?

My transcript is proof that I did well. It took me a little while to settle on a field (18th-century British epistolary novel), but I loved the subject matter and was already forming ideas for a dissertation. My only dicey moment was a required French translation class, but I passed. Oh, and I wrote a bad paper on Wordsworth, but I never liked Wordsworth.

3. Doesn’t that make you a quitter?

Yes. I’m a quitter who makes more money and has better job opportunities precisely because I quit.

4. Don’t you feel bad that you took the slot of someone else who might have finished the whole program?

Yes. But I remind myself of this fact: Universities always need cheap labor. If a person has writing chops and good references, she will get into a program.

5. Don’t you regret not finishing grad school and seeing how it turned out?

Sometimes. My husband is an academic, and he’s thriving, so the thought of academia never really goes away. Plus, I enjoyed teaching. I even enjoyed teaching comp. For real. Given where I was and my field of interest, I didn’t have fantasies of being a hotshot at a top-tier research university. I thought teaching a high course load with less research was a good fit for me. I liked research, too, but it was more realistic to expect a job at a smaller university.

6. So why didn’t you keep going if you didn’t care about prestige and were okay with a job that emphasized teaching?

When I saw how administrators (and some of my peers) reacted when TAs at my university started to organize, I was shocked. A surprisingly high number of people–including TAs–felt that TAs didn’t deserve basic employment protections. Beyond the unionization factor, teachers don’t get respect or are dismissed with “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” Thanks to attitudes like that, teachers are paid poorly, and they rarely receive the resources they need. Sure, I enjoyed teaching and was even recognized for it, but I realized that I’m not a martyr, and I’m not good at putting up with crap. I wanted respect. So I left grad school and found it.

7. Doesn’t being a cubicle jockey suck out your soul?

No! In general, I’ve had good office jobs. The worst job I ever had, the one that made me wish I was back in grad school, was one that had the most affiliations with universities. Low pay, no respect, rigid class system … I’m having flashbacks just thinking about it. The best jobs I ever had were in fields that merged the humanities with other disciplines, like writing for financial companies or writing copy that appeared in video search engines.

I would also like to add that you will find mental stimulation in the office environment. You won’t be deciphering Judith Butler all day, but you will need to solve tough problems. It is also extraordinarily satisfying to see the fruits of your labor within a short time as opposed to the years it takes to finish a dissertation. You might not be able to have theoretical debates like you did in grad school, but grad school and the office are similar–you’ll discover pretty quickly which people you get along with and which ones you don’t.

8. So how do I leave academia and find a job in another career?

If you’re a grad student, the first part is pretty easy. Wait for a logical break in your studies, and file to take a year off. Most programs are cool with it. I requested a year off after I finished my MA. Then you can start looking for work while knowing that you can come back. The second part is harder–Figuring out what you want to do. If you got into a good grad program, you must be smart, so the possibilities are endless.

(Editor’s note: the logical break part can get a little hairy once you’ve started a diss, but I’m trying to line someone up to address that!)

9. What if my advisor gets mad or is disappointed in me?

That’s a toughie. I had good advisors in my grad program. Some of them went through hard times during their own job searches, and they shared those stories with me, so they were understanding. If your advisor has convinced himself that one must suffer for the life of the mind, then just say you’ll take a year off. It’s not a lie. You might decide you want to come back. If your advisor doesn’t respond to your requests for advice or blows you off … well, you’re better off leaving. Bosses in the office world almost always return calls.

10. What careers can a former English grad student try? Journalism? Editing? Writing?

Don’t limit yourself. After I left, I immediately took the editing & writing route, but the jobs and the pay weren’t that great. Once I started learning about other fields, like investing and technology, I began to mesh my writing skills with this knowledge. If there’s a specific career you have in mind, start building connections and figuring out how you can get on that career path. It’s hard work, and you’re going to have to hustle, but the reward is much better than going through the MLA a few times and not getting a job.

To conclude, grad school and academia are completely different from an office job. That said, one isn’t any better than the other. I know I made references to a lack of respect for teachers and low pay, but some people are so passionate about teaching that they don’t mind. If you take time off and discover that academia is your calling, then pursue that dream. What’s important is finding a career that gives you satisfaction and self-respect, whether it is in academia or in an office.

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Tags: caroline roberts, don't want to be a quitter, grad school sucks, postacademic, should I get a phd, should I leave grad school