From time to time, I’ve enjoyed reading articles in the career section of The Chronicle of Higher Education. While I invested myself last year in trying to become a teacher, I did not read this journal. Who had the time? I certainly didn’t, even though it was something recommended to me by the man who ran the internship program for aspiring community college instructors. Ironically, as I have become frustrated with the pitfalls of teaching part-time have I become more of a reader. From time to time, and sometimes in marathon sessions, I have gone to the website and read articles. There are enough critical articles in there to affirm the anger, failure and hopelessness, and resentment I have felt during the past year. Critical pieces on financial uncertainty, job insecurity, unprofessional treatment by others, and feeling that one can’t really do anything else have spoken to me as, “Yes, this is what I have experienced.” Perversely, these pity party reads have given me hope, especially by ex-adjuncts or those who have managed to be creative in their circumstances.
I have enjoyed the columns of the pseudonymous Thomas H. Benton. His articles are sharply critical of the academic establishment, professors, and students. A few have been critical of the graduate school system. Since I have experienced a lot of the grad school pitfalls firsthand, I read those articles first hand. And then I couldn’t stop. I just kept reading and reading (and I haven’t completely exhausted them).
I like the article about research assistants. When I worked for the fictionally named Professor Joseph K, the general job description was glamorous – I held the title of assistant editor for his then University Press Journal. A more accurate description, and less prestigious, would have been secretary/administrative assistant. However, I essentially was a research assistant. I’ve discussed some of my job so far in this blog, but I’ll discuss more of it later.
There is a whole slew of articles on adjuncts. Like Benton’s articles, I haven’t completely exhausted them. I’ve been reading them one after another, but I definitely need some time to process it all.
In general, as I write my series “If You Want To Go To Grad School,” these articles are important for me since they are part of the conversation. I am hearing what other voices are saying and I am adding my voice, however risky that may be.
Today, I interviewed for a job in which I can be seen as “overqualified.” I liked the interviewer a lot. One wonderful thing of talking to non-academics is when they tell you that they love to read. Then they’ll tell you who they love to read and what they are reading at the moment. This happened for sure during the interview. Getting back to my point, she asked me at one point if I would see the work as menial. I answered no. Once upon a time, when I worked at the supermarket, I saw it as below me and looked to my college education to rescue me from it. I got my BA and then an MFA, but I’m poorer now than I was then. Struggling to barely get by, dealing with a transitory work situation, and begging hiring professors for jobs is menial. The correct term is demeaning. Honest work that provides a livelihood, however menial it may be, never demeans the worker.
I think I like to read these articles because they are like war stories from fellow soldiers. I’m not alone in what I’m dealing with. Hopefully, my stories will also resonate with a reader who’s in grad school or just recently got out. I can only hope.
