It’s April. You know, the cruellest month for English majors. Time to leave the archive, graduate, and move on.
This blog has heard a lot of my voice. Now, it’s your turn. And there’s a little money in it for you.
Fifty years from now there will be only 10 institutions in the whole world that deliver higher education.
–Sebastian Thrun, founder of a sky-rocketing digital university
There is a higher education experiment happening right now that could topple traditional universities. For elite universities, the brand they have built might not be relevant in the near future. And the old stigma of earning a degree online will fade. This article overviews the digital shift in education that goes far beyond ‘offering courses online.’
They never had enough to fulfill us.
Our parents went to university to escape the factory. But when we came, the factory was gone. We never considered it. And so, the defining choice of our generation wasn’t if we’d go to university. Of course we’d go. The question was–how good would we decide to be at it?
This email came across my desk this morning and so I wanted to share it. The ACLS Public Fellows program will place 13 recent PhDs from the humanities and humanistic social sciences in two-year staff positions at partnering organizations in government and the nonprofit sector. Applications must be submitted by March 21st. Details are below.
Last month, I began to write a novel. I’ve always wanted to write fiction. It’s one of my life goals. And year after year, I kept on delaying. Even my Master’s degree was a delay. I thought learning about fiction was a good way to become a writer. Except I never wrote much.
It’s hard to write. You write embarrassing prose. Your story sucks. Your dialogue is friggen terrible. You feel immature.
This is why most people don’t start things: because the beginning is the hardest part of the climb.
On grad school admissions websites, they lie. They tell you how long it takes to complete the degree–Master’s degree one to two years; PhD, four to five years–but they never talk about the years of career limbo after you graduate.
For me, the longest year of career limbo was after I finished my Master’s degree and was accepted into a PhD program. I had planned on becoming a professor since I was 19. I had spent most of my free time and academic years working towards that goal. I spent the summers reading French literary theory, wrote academic papers in dirty little apartments, collected quotes from Augustine, Freud, Kierkegaard, and St. Paul in a thick journal, and never once took a work co-op or gained any practical work experience outside of my scholar-path.
After a year of deferring my PhD program drop-out, I finally sent the email and cut my self loose. I expected things to change fast. Find that first good job. Move on up with my life. But I had no job specific skills. Worse yet, I thought I had skills. I had an advanced degree! Those are valuable, right?
Last year, I posted about the ten best non academic blogs to read in 2011. Not wanting to be outdone by my former self, I’ve created a new list of non academic blogs to read in 2012.
Here is a long, exhaustive list of the best jobs for English majors and other humanities degrees (BA, MA, and PhD).
Also, you will find details about my new e-book, How to Find a Career With Your English Degree in 126 Days at the end of this post.
It was April. My last month at graduate school. I was walking through the bright library searching for books to help me find a career with my English degrees (BA and MA in English). It seemed grim. Where do English majors end up after graduation? Teach? A proofreader? Teach?
What compromise can you make to join your passion to your job?
Last month, I had my photograph taken at a professional studio. Inside the small industrial bathroom, the walls were covered with avant-garde photographs. The waiting room was also filled with artsy magazines about photography.
This week, I’m very proud to release my book: How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days. And until Friday, December 09th 2011, you can save 50% off the cover price by using the code 126DAYS at the check-out.
To read more and claim your 50% off 126DAY coupon click here.
If you have read my blog and are searching for the next step, this book is for you. My blog is about the emotional costs of leaving academia.
This book is the complete guide to finding a career with your humanities degree—even if you have no money, a crappy resume, and no idea of where to start.
About the 126 Day Challenge
How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days is a 18 week challenge (126 days) where you are shown the exact steps and actions needed to get out of ‘liberal arts career limbo.’ The 126 Challenge is to show you how to get out of this mess, using step-by-step weekly and monthly tasks.
This book is a “life-hack” and is written from someone in the trenches. This is practical, real-life knowledge, and is designed to take you step-by-step from where you are now and towards a rewarding, profitable humanities career.
This book contains every lesson I have learned and the mistakes you can avoid.
This is the book I wish I could have read when starting out.
To find out more to claim your 50% off 126DAY coupon click here.
