political science job rumors

Things may get weird. Trying to fix the problems.

1. Shawshank Brooks
   Unregistered

   ^The danger is my situation.

   I started when I was 27, thinking I wanted nothing else and would in any case get through quickly because I was "super smart." As it turns out, 1) getting a Ph.D. requires much more than smarts; 2) idiosyncrasies exist that slow you down no matter how smart you are, how hard you work, or how much you produce(e.g. committee bullsh*t); and 3) your lumps can wear you down and crush your expectations and you may end up not wanting to do this for a living. And then what? You're in your 30s and light years behind other people your age in terms of experience. Not a great situation to be in.

   Posted 2 months ago #

2. Anon
   Unregistered

   I started at 29 (and am not done yet), and yes occasionally I wish I'd started earlier. I will be older, there are financial implications, I'm tired, want to have a family, etc. etc. and it gets harder to move as you age.

   There are benefits to having waited though:
   -my dissertation research is informed by my work experience
   -I can bring a practical as well as academic perspective to my topic (and I think this helped bring in scholarship money)
   -I've had another career and could return to it
   -I do have a bit more perspective (ie academia isn't all I've ever known, or the totality of my existence)

   Posted 2 months ago #

3. anon
   Unregistered

   When deciding whether or not to pursue a PhD the only question is do you "love" the subject matter? If you do, then it is well worth it -- regardless of your final employment status.

   To think is to live, and life is too short not to think for a living.

   Posted 2 months ago #

4. anon
   Unregistered

   Your ability to produce children free of significant birth defects drops off pretty fast after 30. I've seen this tragedy afflict many in academia. Maybe better to have the kids first and go for the PhD later?

   Posted 2 months ago #

5. anon
   Unregistered

   I started late. Got the job done. Got tenure. My advice to you is don't do it. Academia has way more blowhards than cubicle world. It's basically a bunch of white-guy nerd/machos comparing the length of their regressions while pretending they're actually doing something that matters. The longer I'm in it, the more I hate it. And it's getting worse.

   Posted 2 months ago #

6. anon
   Unregistered

   So true

   Posted 2 months ago #

7. anon
   Unregistered

   It's a tradeoff. In favor of going younger is you are still in tune with what academia expects, you can put off having a family, you don't have big financial burdens, and you'll have a longer career as a tenured faculty member. Older helps if you are more focused, more sure this is what you really want to do, and have relevant work experience.

   I'd say the optimum is 2-5 years after college, but I know many exceptions on both ends.

   It can be hard on your ego, also, starting later. I know someone who was in a senior policy role in DC. As a 1st year grad student he offered to give a talk in the relevant area seminar, and everyone was just bemused. As a student, you don't get to be a high-status adult again for several years, no matter what you did before. It gets harder to jump through what look like pointless hoops.

   Posted 2 months ago #

8. anon
   Unregistered

   Have you ever had a nightmare where you were suddenly back in school, running late to get to an exam, and when you get there find out that you are totally unprepared for it? Everything on the page looks like gibberish?

   That will be your actual experience for five years as a 40-something returning to a graduate school to pursue a PhD in political science.

   Posted 2 months ago #

9. martin luther bing
   Unregistered

   colin wight has just become my hero

   Posted 2 months ago #

10. anon
    Unregistered

    Older than 35 is a stretch for most people. There are always exceptions. If you're one of the exceptions you'll do fine. No way to know though till you try it. That's the unfortunate truth. All the advice that you get here will never be good enough considering we know nothing about your skills, motivation, drive and ability to be strategic. Yes, strategic. Getting a PhD is not just about being smart. Smartest people can get stuck in a rut due to any combination of bad advisers, icky personal situation, field work or data collection problems, etc. etc.

    Posted 2 months ago #

11. anon
    Unregistered

    The more the merrier. The current situation with a massive, massive surplus of candidates might produce an improvement in the discipline over time. As long as we have gullible people who enter PhD programs it creates even more of a survival of the fittest syndrome, and the best prevail

    Posted 2 months ago #

12. anon
    Unregistered

    If you ever sang along to Sheryl Crow on the radio, you are far too old to be in grad school

    Posted 2 months ago #

13. anon
    Unregistered

    Sheryl who?

    Posted 2 months ago #

14. anon
    Unregistered

    Women who want to have children: beware the battle between your biological clock and your tenure clock. Start the PhD too late and you'll feel like never is the right time.

    Posted 2 months ago #

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