This quick blog post is drawn from advice given to someone considering a job offer at a "V. small college" that shall remain nameless. I think few academics know to consult Moody's and other financial ratings. But in this era where institutions are … [Read more...] about Moody’s Ratings and Due Diligence in the Academic Job Search
Ph.D. Poverty
Why I Left Academia: Mental Health, Identity Loss, and Reinvention – Guest Post by Dr. Ashley Ruba
Bio: Dr. Ashley Ruba is a queer, first-generation college student, neurodivergent entrepreneur, and founder of After Academia, a professional development program designed to help graduate students, post-docs, and professors find … [Read more...] about Why I Left Academia: Mental Health, Identity Loss, and Reinvention – Guest Post by Dr. Ashley Ruba
Paying The Price: The Costs of Academia for First-Gen BIPOC Scholars
By Cecilia Caballero. Bio: Based in LA, Cecilia Caballero is a single mother, creative nonfiction writer, poet, teaching artist, and lecturer of Ethnic Studies. As a teaching artist, Cecilia facilitates generative poetry workshops for BIPOC … [Read more...] about Paying The Price: The Costs of Academia for First-Gen BIPOC Scholars
Nihilism Was Inevitable
A genre of tweet has been gaining steam the last couple weeks, about the complete meaninglessness of academic job application documents or processes. It's all a crap shoot, argues this line of thought. Further, the collapse in hiring has only exposed … [Read more...] about Nihilism Was Inevitable
Toxic Hope
This story was shared by a reader recently. They have given me permission to share it here anonymously. Rarely have I seen the sickness of the PhD apparatus so clearly articulated. "Toxic hope" is another way of saying Berlant's "cruel optimism" … [Read more...] about Toxic Hope
Academia Is a Cult: Story of a TEDx Talk
About six months ago I was invited to do a TEDx talk, which I called Academia Is a Cult, by Prof. Adam Key of University of Arkansas at Monticello. I don't watch TED talks, and mostly dislike the whole idea of them. So I ignored the invitation for a … [Read more...] about Academia Is a Cult: Story of a TEDx Talk
Someone Who Speaks My Language–#BLM Guest Post
By W. D. Herstun. W. D. Herstun is a graduate student in Writing & Digital Communication with a background in research and history. She reads everything and studies anything but is currently fascinated by surrealism’s various manifestations. … [Read more...] about Someone Who Speaks My Language–#BLM Guest Post
Academia Wasn’t Meant For Me – #Postac Guest Post
Shared with permission. Hi there,I recognize that you probably receive many, many messages. I'm sure a lot of them come from trolls. I don't really expect a reply. I mostly just wanted to send this someplace safe. I'm not currently in a … [Read more...] about Academia Wasn’t Meant For Me – #Postac Guest Post
Boston U Dean to Struggling Grad Students: Go To the Food Pantry – Guest Post
This post shared by a reader. ~~~~~~~~~~~ An intercepted email from a dean at Boston University to faculty and staff reveals that the administration is responding to poverty-like conditions among its grad students by sending out links to food … [Read more...] about Boston U Dean to Struggling Grad Students: Go To the Food Pantry – Guest Post
Call it Real-Ac
At the start of every talk that I give on the academic and post-academic job market, I state that in a decades long reality in which only 5-35% of PhDs (depending on field) will get tenure track jobs, the so-called "non-academic" job should NOT be … [Read more...] about Call it Real-Ac