Graduate School, Research, Professor

[nomadic myth]

I'm currently in Korea settling into marriage and fatherhood. In my college days I did a BA with a major in English Literature, and now I'm five years into the world of ESL teaching, but planning on going back to school in a few years. I want to get my MA and Ph.D in English Lit., and become a professor.

All sorts of issues arise with this. Foremost is that I feel left behind, that I'm getting too old to break into university teaching. Also, I feel I'm getting rusty academically, and that no matter how much I read and learn now it is not useful to an academic career. Research is also a problem. I try to investigate things, but I feel cut off from useful information because I don't have access to journals. Subscribing to even a few journals would cost a lot of money, let alone twenty to thirty relevant journals.

I would love any suggestions or encouragement.

 

[Gem]

nomadic myth,
Responsibilities have a tendency to get in the way of goals; you said you're still settling into married life and fatherhood, both of which are hard work. I'd say give yourself some time & space, don't worry about being left behind - you're not racing anyone.

Also, I feel I'm getting rusty academically, and that no matter how much I read and learn now it is not useful to an academic career.

Perhaps you feel rusty because you haven't been in the 'loop', ie you haven't been discussing literature or thinking about it as much as you once did. For a start, just to get going, why don't you start threads here on either your preferred literary works or discussions about literature in general. A little discussion may help you feel less rusty.
I'd also suggest spending some time surfing the net, there are countless websites out there that might be of help to you, perhaps just even going to the sites of various universities and reading up on their syllabus might be helpful.
HERE is website with links to various other literature websites.
And HERE is a discussion forum for ESL teachers, perhaps you'll find other people in the same boat.
All the best.

 

[KristoCat]

Nomadic Myth,

I second Gem's encouragement and well wishes! About your journal problem: Try browsing in the Directory of Open Access Journals. This is a collection of scholarly journals in all kinds of topics that are available in full text for free. I learned about this in some of my library science classes

 

[nomadic myth]

Thanks for the encouragement.

It is hard to stay on track with a job, wife, and son, but I've managed to eliminate most of my bad time wasters, so I have quite a bit of reading time. I think the biggest thing getting me is that academics requires output. I should probably start some sort of review blog, or at least polish up my posts on this site.

Going to university sites is a great idea, Gem. I can keep up to date as to what is on syllabi at various universities in my interest areas.

No way I'm going to Dave's ESL site again, but thanks for the suggestion Gem. It was thoughtful of you, but that site qualifies as one of the bad time wasters I eliminated from my life. Their favorite topics are how stupid Koreans are, how stupid work is, and how hot or not Korean women are.

The journal link is great, KristoCat. I was getting frustrated trying to find journals. I quickly browsed the literature journals on that site, and found at least a few excellent and pertinent journals to my interest areas.

The Voice of the Shuttle, which is what I was trying before, turned out to be rather useless for my purposes. It seemed to have lots of links to general stuff, but absolutely nothing detailed. Most journals I found were part of pay networks, where you need a general subscription and then can have access to many journals. The subscription costs were appropriate for university libraries to pay, but not for me as an individual.

Any more journal links will be much appreciated.

 

[SFG75]

I wouldn't worry about the age thing at all. Some departments(teacher education) require five to six years of actual experience before they will consider you. I know of people who went straight through from their B.A. to Ph.D. and were done when they were 28 or 29. That's all fine and dandy, but you need experience in teaching as well. In regards to the research issue, you must also remember that participating in academic conferences, giving presentations, and holding sessions for your employer count as good experience as well. Get involved in these. It's also a good time now to join the different academic associations that you are interested in. All that it will cost you is perhaps a night or two away from the family at a conference and the cost.

You are in a very crowded field, so am I as a history grad. You might want to look into specializing in ESL education, which is a HUGE field right now and where there are a ton of openings. A U.S. history professor is a dime a dozen these days, so I'm looking to specialize in something where there is greater opportunity. Right now, I'm leaning towards social foundations of education, which is a blend of history, sociology, and pedagogy. I still get the history interest in, as well as that of the field that I love, but less competitors.

 

[nomadic myth]

I know of people who went straight through from their B.A. to Ph.D. and were done when they were 28 or 29. That's all fine and dandy, but you need experience in teaching as well.

...

You are in a very crowded field, so am I as a history grad. You might want to look into specializing in ESL education, which is a HUGE field right now and where there are a ton of openings.

I think I had some of the fast trackers for profs when I was in university. Half my professors couldn't teach worth ****. Honestly, they shouldn't have been profs. I know research is important, but most of them would have been better off just writing their lectures, and having someone with an exciting voice read it. All they did was read their research for fifty minutes in monotone. Some of them also seemed to have severe stage fright.

No way I can tolerate specializing in ESL. I'm just doing my job now for money, and I don't find it very interesting. Actually that's a lie. I teach elementary school, and working with kids is a total riot, and I enjoy that a lot. But, it is not very intellectual, and I would rather up the intellect. I'm really interested in ecology, literature, truth, beauty, environment, eco-criticism, nature writing, and stuff in that area. I can't really stand Spenser and Pope and that sort of crowd all that much, but Thoreau, Melville, and similar are okay. The Romantics are kind of my cut off point. I would research and teach in my areas of interest for free. Pay would be nice, though. Basically I want a job that corresponds to my hobby.

My only worry now is finding an area of specialization that is in demand. That's why I'm keen to get into journals. Actually, I've found most of my brilliant ideas recently have already been done, and not recently. I thought I struck intellectual gold and truth when I was doing my BA, and then realized it was just a re-do of Atwood and Palahniuk. Recently I've been obsessed with wolves in literature, but I think Barry Lopez did a definitive study. Wilderness was an area I thought I had unique ideas about, but Roderick Nash wrote the book I could have written about forty years ago. These are widely published authors, not academic researchers.

Maybe I have to chill out.

 

[Violanthe]

I'm currently finishing up my MA thesis in an academic program state-side

I don't think you really need to worry about age. My experience in academic programs has been that grad students tend to be older anyhow. While most undergrads are 18-22, grad student ages have a much larger range. Your peers as a grad student will range from 23-year-old's just out of their BA, to those who have taken a year or two off (I started grad school when I was a month shy of turning 25), to people in their late twenties working on a second Masters, to Ph.D. students who have been working on their degree on and off for awhile. I know Ph.D. students who are in their forties, and there are a few part-timers in my own grad program who are in their golden years.

So I really don't think you have to worry about getting a late start.

As for getting rusty academically, you probably don't need to be concerned. If you really love what you're going to be researching, then you'll enjoy the research and get back into it. I presume that you'll be going back to your English-speaking country of origin to do the advanced degrees? In that case, you'll have good access to journals and such. Your grad programs won't expect that you've been publishing research or keeping up with journals all this time. Maybe if you had taken time off between MA and PHD, but not if you're between BA and MA.

That said, you may want to consider a more circuitous route to your dream of being a professor than going into an English Lit. program. The problem with academic programs in the last ten years is that applications (and thus competition) is way up. Large, unspecialized programs like English Lit, Linguistics, and History are the hardest to get into.

You might want to try looking into some smaller programs that will let you take an interdisciplinary approach. Your years in Korea could get you into an Asian Studies type of program where you could work on comparative East-West literature, or a Cultural Studies type program that would allow you to study literature as a cultural artifact of sorts (rather than doing literary criticism, per se, you look at literature as evidence for phenomena in the culture that produces it).

 

[nomadic myth]

The problem with academic programs in the last ten years is that applications (and thus competition) is way up. Large, unspecialized programs like English Lit, Linguistics, and History are the hardest to get into.

You might want to try looking into some smaller programs that will let you take an interdisciplinary approach. Your years in Korea could get you into an Asian Studies type of program where you could work on comparative East-West literature, or a Cultural Studies type program that would allow you to study literature as a cultural artifact of sorts (rather than doing literary criticism, per se, you look at literature as evidence for phenomena in the culture that produces it).

The difficulty in getting into a program is one of the things worrying me. I know I'll be competing with people fresh out of a BA and who have A+ averages.

I would basically like to be doing the type of personal study that would be equivalent to working on my MA and Ph.D now, but without academic credit. I will be in Korea for at least five more years, and there seem to be no reputable distance programs in English Lit., but I'm not so much interested in a piece of paper saying I completed study as I am in just doing the study.

Specializing in a smaller area would be great. I'm not used to that concept, as my undergrad was done at a very small university with just the traditional programs. My current area of interest is what is covered by The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment. I found their site just this week looking around on the net, so I was quite happy.

 

[SFG75]

I think I had some of the fast trackers for profs when I was in university. Half my professors couldn't teach worth ****.

That is truly something else isn't it? The teacher education profs. had a hard time winning over secondary and elementary teachers in regards to proper teaching methods because they themselves did such a horrid job at motivating, showing enthusiasm in teaching, etc. Perhaps that is why GAs tend to do the teaching at large universities? The profs. don't want to be distrurbed from their precious book in order to teach a bunch of snot-nosed freshmen a survey course.

No way I can tolerate specializing in ESL. I'm just doing my job now for money, and I don't find it very interesting. Actually that's a lie. I teach elementary school, and working with kids is a total riot, and I enjoy that a lot.

Teaching is truly something else. I enjoy the challenge and the sense of accomplishment it gives just can't be matched. I can't see myself filing insurance claims or something like that, the *meaning* just wouldn't be there for me, though I'm not implying that insurance claims adjustors have no meaning in their lives.

But, it is not very intellectual, and I would rather up the intellect.

I understand this feeling. When you are teaching young people, it's similar to an all-star baseball player playing t-ball. And to think, some people play intellectual t-ball for thirty years or more. I would say that the key to partially solving this problem, at least it solves it for many people, would be to find an avenue to let this desire for a brainy challenge to come out. Perhaps teaching a college night class? That was a very good outlet for me. You should seriously consider it.

I'm really interested in ecology, literature, truth, beauty, environment, eco-criticism, nature writing, and stuff in that area.

Some of the more interesting works out there is through independent research. Ken Wilber is a great example of accomplishing a lot without university support. If you wanted to do something ever edgy or "out there," you would have a hard time getting kudos from your colleagues in a departmental setting.

I can't really stand Spenser and Pope and that sort of crowd all that much, but Thoreau, Melville, and similar are okay. The Romantics are kind of my cut off point. I would research and teach in my areas of interest for free. Pay would be nice, though. Basically I want a job that corresponds to my hobby

.

The Rape of the Lock and The Educator are some of the most amusing poems that Pope every produced. Given his attitude though, I would've punched his lights out had I ever met him. Gotta love Thoreau and the trascendentalists, I can't get enough of their works. As for the bolded part that I created, that would be teaching at the university level? I agree that would be perhaps the best of both worlds. However, it is not a bowl of cherries either. The increasing hiring of adjuncts, administrators, tight budgets, the "publish or perish" minset, and did I mention administrators? I have known some college professors who were miserable. I'm not certain what to attribute it to, but I have some theories.

My only worry now is finding an area of specialization that is in demand. That's why I'm keen to get into journals. Actually, I've found most of my brilliant ideas recently have already been done, and not recently. I thought I struck intellectual gold and truth when I was doing my BA, and then realized it was just a re-do of Atwood and Palahniuk. Recently I've been obsessed with wolves in literature, but I think Barry Lopez did a definitive study. Wilderness was an area I thought I had unique ideas about, but Roderick Nash wrote the book I could have written about forty years ago. These are widely published authors, not academic researchers.

Maybe I have to chill out.

It's good to have in your mind what you would like to research. The specifics will come at the appropriate time. Perhaps a critique of Nash and his observations? A multicultural critiuqe of the Euro-dominant oppressive desire to crush nature as espoused by Nash? Just kidding-but I think you know what I'm getting at in a round about way here.

 

[curiouswonder]

I would love any suggestions or encouragement.

No suggestions, but be encouraged. This past spring I went back to grad school at 35 with 4 kids and a business to run. It's possible and if you love what you are chasing, it doesn't even feel like work. Well, at least most of the time.

I'm with you on wanting a job that corresponds to your hobby. I decided a year ago that I couldn't do anything else. If you love it, you'll stay up enough to be able to keep up when the time comes to re-enter academia.

 

[nomadic myth]

Basically I want a job that corresponds to my hobby.

As for the bolded part that I created, that would be teaching at the university level? I agree that would be perhaps the best of both worlds. However, it is not a bowl of cherries either. The increasing hiring of adjuncts, administrators, tight budgets, the "publish or perish" mindset, and did I mention administrators?

Yeah, I have thought about this. Currently I work about five hours per day, five days a week. I have to be at work for longer than that, but I look at it as reading time. I'm a get things done and relax type of person. I'm not sure I would enjoy a university work load. Marking stacks of essays may be less fun than reading literature, or teaching Korean kids to say "What do you like?" for that matter.

 

[nomadic myth]

No suggestions, but be encouraged. This past spring I went back to grad school at 35 with 4 kids and a business to run. It's possible and if you love what you are chasing, it doesn't even feel like work. Well, at least most of the time.

I'm with you on wanting a job that corresponds to your hobby. I decided a year ago that I couldn't do anything else. If you love it, you'll stay up enough to be able to keep up when the time comes to re-enter academia.

This makes me feel good. I do love what I'm chasing. I think about literature and stuff when I shower, ride the bus, walk to the store, wash dishes, shave, eat dinner, mess up the bed, brush my teeth, well..., you get the picture.

 

[Prairie_Girl]

If money was no object and I could erase my past screwups (I was stupid and 18 and got kicked out of uni) I would totally just start going back to school and not stop until I got my PH.D and then I'd get to teach forever and be surrounded by books!

 

[tundra]

If money was no object and I could erase my past screwups (I was stupid and 18 and got kicked out of uni) I would totally just start going back to school and not stop until I got my PH.D and then I'd get to teach forever and be surrounded by books!

Why didn't you just go to another university after you got kicked out of the last one? I think schooling is worth borrowing money for. I hope you start again and get a Ph.D. It will be the best thing you ever do. As for myself..I'm getting out after my M.S..as my dreams lie elsewhere.

 

[Prairie_Girl]

Why didn't you just go to another university after you got kicked out of the last one? I think schooling is worth borrowing money for. I hope you start again and get a Ph.D. It will be the best thing you ever do. As for myself..I'm getting out after my M.S..as my dreams lie elsewhere.

I'll be able to go back eventually. There was no other option at the time. And I wasn't ready at the time. I think I will be soon, I think I am now. But now I'm married, with cats and debts that need attending.

 

[SFG75]

I'll be able to go back eventually. There was no other option at the time. And I wasn't ready at the time. I think I will be soon, I think I am now. But now I'm married, with cats and debts that need attending.

Timing is very important. Not everyone is meant to go through at 19 or 21. A lot of people do so ten or even thirty years later. There is something to be said about experiencing life.

 

[Prairie_Girl]

right now I'm thinking 25ish. I want to make sure I am 100% ready, I don't want to mess up again.