javelinconquest
New member
I'm considerably ahead of myself in asking this, but it's better to know what I'm getting into in life way ahead of time!
I recently read an article that I can't seem to find the link to again that was warning about a state in which graduate students get into when they are completely enamored with academia, wishing to continue a life in academia through professorship, and are encouraged by their professors that 'of COURSE they'll get to be professors, all of the professors will be retiring or dead by the time you get out of graduate school', which sort of wraps the graduate students in a shell of security, bright-eyed naivety, and over-confidence about entering into academia once they've graduated. The author of the article warned that all of the soothing words of the students' professors were preparing students for a world of hurt when they eventually graduated and learned that, no, the current professors in most places would not be retiring soon, so the eager student would be stuck in a state of assistant intern and professorships waiting for a spot to open up and working for barely livable pay and insane hours. The author was concerned for the state of the students, commenting from his experience in graduate school that these graduates were so eager for professorship that they would work for years with hopes of being professors stuck in these grunt work stages and barely eeking by a living.
Is this so? Even this last year (my junior year in high school), two of my teachers have assured me that this is a perfect time to go into school for professorship because the baby boomers will be leaving their places by the time I'm graduated. I'm worried that perhaps it's not so.
Furthermore, it's not as if I'm wanting to go into a highly desirable field like math or science. I want to profess in liberal arts, specifically in the fields of medieval/renaissance history, ancient history, classics, or anthropology, which are all highly sought-after fields with an abundance of applicants to professorship. Am I in trouble?
I recently read an article that I can't seem to find the link to again that was warning about a state in which graduate students get into when they are completely enamored with academia, wishing to continue a life in academia through professorship, and are encouraged by their professors that 'of COURSE they'll get to be professors, all of the professors will be retiring or dead by the time you get out of graduate school', which sort of wraps the graduate students in a shell of security, bright-eyed naivety, and over-confidence about entering into academia once they've graduated. The author of the article warned that all of the soothing words of the students' professors were preparing students for a world of hurt when they eventually graduated and learned that, no, the current professors in most places would not be retiring soon, so the eager student would be stuck in a state of assistant intern and professorships waiting for a spot to open up and working for barely livable pay and insane hours. The author was concerned for the state of the students, commenting from his experience in graduate school that these graduates were so eager for professorship that they would work for years with hopes of being professors stuck in these grunt work stages and barely eeking by a living.
Is this so? Even this last year (my junior year in high school), two of my teachers have assured me that this is a perfect time to go into school for professorship because the baby boomers will be leaving their places by the time I'm graduated. I'm worried that perhaps it's not so.
Furthermore, it's not as if I'm wanting to go into a highly desirable field like math or science. I want to profess in liberal arts, specifically in the fields of medieval/renaissance history, ancient history, classics, or anthropology, which are all highly sought-after fields with an abundance of applicants to professorship. Am I in trouble?