A Dual Exit: An IHE Interview

Interested in hearing why two members of an academic couple would decide to leave academe at the same time? Check out my latest IHE piece: "A Dual Exit":

http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/on_the_fence/woolf8

Questions and comments are welcome!

A Bleak Market

Public domain image

I wanted to include a link to my recent Inside Higher Ed article on the depressing state of the academic job market.

http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/on_the_fence/woolf5

This piece generated a number of comments as well as multiple private notes to my Inside Higher Ed email account. There are a lot of job seekers out there who are hurting right now and/or totally ambivalent about their professional future. I count myself among them. The problem is simple: there are just not enough jobs to go around. For many of us, despite an impressive array of qualifications, the buck stops here.

Now what?

I am currently in the process of finding and delivering current information on alternate careers for humanities Ph.D.'s. The recession has, unfortunately, complicated things by making just about every level of employment difficult to find at present. Ph.D. or no Ph.D., it is extremely difficult to secure a full-time, ongoing job at the moment in a field relevant to one's degree, work experience, and professional qualifications. Not to mention the difficulty of finding a position that pays a living wage and provides critical employment benefits, especially health insurance.

New Column Debut: May 17th 2010

It's official, the new "On the Fence" column will be up and running beginning May 17th. I look forward to working with the folks over at Inside Higher Ed and answering queries from readers. I especially hope to receive personal stories and anecdotes from doctoral students and recent Ph.D.'s who are currently on the market. Drop me a line anytime at eliza.woolf@insiderhighered.com

Introducing a new column!

In the near future I will be launching a bi-monthly careers column on Inside Higher Ed, "On the Fence," in which I will explore the manifold reasons why it is so hard to simply walk away from the ivory tower . . . even during an academic apocalypse. I'll also be taking a look at the steps Ph.D.s and A.B.D.s can take to begin pursuing a plan B.

This blog will serve as a supplement to the column; a place to get my creative juices flowing and explore ideas for future articles; and a place to be myself. I'll be posting links to relevant websites, columns, and articles about staying in the ivory tower, applying for jobs, leaving academia, and managing a dual job search in both academic and non-academic markets.

Look out of for the column soon to be appearing on http://www.insidehighered.com/