Through the Kept-Up Librarian, a link to a column in Inside Higher Education describing the next reality show. By the way, Inside Higher Education is a great alternative to The Chronicle of Higher Education, often more interesting as well. In this one, graduate students vie for the rare and elusive tenure track job at a university. I had a small laugh here and there as I read it, and I am sure readers who may be going through a PhD program will find this more than amusing given how true some of the stuff is. To make it more interesting, some of the comments on the site actually give more suggestions of other elements to add to the reality show. Overall, reading the column makes me glad I got out of that doctoral program and went to library school instead.
While on the topic of the dismal job situation for professors in higher education, the blog Critical Mass has a post about David Rivers, author of What Color is Your Parachute? In the post, the author provides a good critique of Rivers's observations about going after a job in higher education. She points out that Rivers fails to point out the situation of adjuncts and and the fact that non-academic work for PhD's should be taken more seriously. It makes for interesting reading. She asked for people to comment and tell about their career paths. If you go there, you may see what I wrote along with others. I am glad to see I am not the only one who decided the Ivory Tower tenure gauntlet was not worth it in so many ways. And yes, I do work in higher education, but I am on a different path, one where I can make a difference for one. Not that professors do not make a difference. I just get to work with students without the grading.
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