Preparing PhD Students for Multiple Career Pathways David Stiles - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Preparing PhD Students for Multiple Career Pathways David Stiles Graduate Student Learning in the Humanities Hart House 28 September 2013

The Scenario  Even at a prestigious  We do well advising research institution for academic like the U of T, many searches of our PhDs will not  We do not do well become academics for non-academic  the numbers just searches don’t add up.

The Problem  Newly-minted PhDs: a moment of identity confusion, or a crisis of self- actualization

The Mental State  Distinct psychological steps: Difficult to do in a single leap, manageable in smaller steps Better to have new PhDs at Step B than at Step A when finishing “I’m trapped. I “I have real “I will include can’t get an options and I work outside academic job could think the academy and I can’t about in my job work outside pursuing search” academia” either/or”

T wo main questions  1) Why are we having these problems? What needs to be changed?  2) How can we progressively evolve academic culture in the humanities?

Question : Why are we having these problems? What needs to be changed?

Why a Humanities PhD?  NOT a strictly economic decision (although we also tend to underestimate its economic value)  Love of learning/subject matter  Perceived opportunity for creative work  Contribute to human knowledge  Desire to participate in a larger intellectual community

Why a Humanities PhD?  More than anything else, most PhDs entered their programs with the intention of becoming professors ◦ Attached notion: many exclusive characteristics of an academic life

Desire to immerse oneself in beautiful libraries and archives

Desire to engage the interest and attention of students

Maybe even the desire to emulate one of the most famous fictional scholars!

Changing Expectations  Initial goal significantly modified over the course of the PhD experience: ◦ Some continue with the process but increasingly feel that the academy is too intense and not compatible enough with other life considerations (such as family).  A U of California study had >50% of male students and >70% of female students agreeing with this complaint. ◦ Some do not complete at all  this problem is significantly worse in the humanities than in other areas.

From: www.universityaffairs.ca, “PhD completion rates and times to completion in Canada,” 12 February 2013

Why are completion rates so bad in the humanities?  No hard data to tell us for sure  Possibilities: ◦ Even greater perception that a PhD in the humanities will not easily lead to either academic or non-academic careers ◦ The shift toward more casual (a.k.a. “adjunct”) employment in universities is likely playing a role

Why is there an “Adjunct Crisis?”  The two most common explanations you hear: ◦ There is an oversupply of PhDs (policy implication: departments need to admit fewer students) ◦ There is an undersupply of academic jobs (policy implication: we need to increase funding for universities)  Both statements have some merit, but neither is really all that helpful

A microeconomic argument about the academic job market for new PhDs  The market for economic jobs is hard because it is an example of market failure (it is a highly inefficient market), and is in need of correction.  This has been true for decades, but has been even worse in recent years.  The underlying reasons  more academic culture than forces external to universities.

What the market for new PhDs looks like (in microeconomic terms) S= Supply of new PhDs  Highly inelastic P= Price, but in our case it is a broad measure of our salary and work conditions Q=Quantity of positions D=Demand curve Reality of this situation: University and college administrations operate in a low-consequence environment with respect to the treatment of new instructors.

The bargaining position of new academics with this supply curve: Please sir, may I have some more?

Why are we such an inelastic labour supply? How can we change? There are at least three harmful mentalities that cause us to be inelastic: 1) Many senior doctoral students and new PhDs don’t believe their skills are transferrable. 2) There is a pervasive culture in graduate school that considers anything but winning a tenure-track job to be failure. 3) There is also a mythology that non-academic careers are not likely to be as personally fulfilling as academic careers.

Making ourselves into a more elastic labour supply requires us to encourage a progressive evolution in academic mentalities and culture

“My skills are not easily transferrable and, in any case, a non-academic career would be a defeat or a failure.” “My skills are highly transferrable and non- academic careers are not inferior to academic careers.”

T wo benefits of a more elastic supply of new PhDs:  Higher levels of  Job market not so confidence and self- swamped with actualization on applicants  more both the academic bargaining power to and non-academic new academics in job markets for new general (a long-term PhDs  less of a structural change). feeling that they are trapped without agency.

Question : What might graduate students and departments be able to do to change our mentalities and culture?

Part I: What Doctoral Students Can Do

Academic Market Strategies  1) Finish your dissertation  2) Don’t put off publishing until you finish your dissertation – you’ll make things much easier on yourself later.  3)Don’t teach your own course until you reach the final stages of your dissertation  put the extra effort into publishing instead.

Non-Academic Market Strategies  1) Start thinking about how you might communicate the usefulness of your research to the intelligent layman  connect YOUR passions to diverse audiences. (Hint: do not say “ontological,” or “alterity” or “semiotics.”)  2) Find ways to practice that kind of communication: ◦ Special interest blog or Twitter account? ◦ Public lectures? Short films on YouTube? ◦ Be creative and take some risks!

Non-Academic Market Strategies  3) Think about what skills you’ve accumulated as a doctoral student from a non-academic perspective: (This might be the most important one!)

Wrote a dissertation? Congratulations! You’re an experienced PROJECT MANAGER for a multi-year project!

Taught a tutorial as a Teaching Assistant? You’re an experienced FACILITATOR and MODERATOR who can deal adeptly with diverse and sometimes difficult opinions!

Taught your own course and had TAs working for you? You’ve got STAFF MANAGEMENT experience!

You are not only capable of doing many of the things people do outside the academy… in many cases, you’ve already done analogous things!

Part II: What Departments Could Do T o Make More Elastic PhDs

What Departments Could Do  1) Think more about what constitutes the “human space” of the department and foster better connectivity  connections with PhD alumni both inside and outside of academia. ◦ This could have an additional development motivation  $$$! People might donate more when they feel more included.

What Departments Could Do  2) Help doctoral students find opportunities to develop their skills as public/non-academic intellectuals ◦ Support public lecturing? ◦ New requirements for students to have a digital presence? ◦ Nurturing the development of “Public Intellectuals” who can cross and re -cross boundaries between academia and our broader society.

These are just a few ideas… …but change in academic culture is inevitable. What’s not inevitable is feeling that we have no agency in such matters.

And remember… More than anything else, this is a mentality problem. Graduate students need to change the way they see themselves and their skills. Faculty members can also learn how to better assist with this process.