{"id":10327,"date":"2016-09-21T14:43:52","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T18:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bsuenglish.wordpress.com\/?p=10327"},"modified":"2022-10-02T21:16:08","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T01:16:08","slug":"alt-ac-you-dont-have-to-be-a-professor-to-work-at-a-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2016\/09\/21\/alt-ac-you-dont-have-to-be-a-professor-to-work-at-a-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Alt-Ac: You Don’t Have to be a Professor to Work at a University"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Day, Assistant Chair of English<\/span><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, September 27th at 6:30 PM in 104 Bracken, we’re hosting our second Stars to Steer By session. The title of this one is “You Don’t Have to be a Professor to Work at a University.”<\/strong> RSVP if you’re coming!\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Why this title?<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I’ve been teaching in higher education for over 20 years, and all too often, I hear students say things like this:<\/p>\n

“I want to do what you do. Teach college. I love English. I love reading and writing. I love my professors. They are my role models, and I want to do what they do. I want to stay in school forever.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is exactly what I wanted in 1991 when I decided to go to graduate school in English\/Creative Writing instead of entering a tough, post-recession job market. When I graduated in 1995, I went on the academic job market. First I got a two-year “contract” position and then\u00a0a tenure-track teaching position. I’ve been in academia ever since.<\/p>\n

But the academic job market in the humanities has changed. You can read all about it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This does NOT mean you should give up your dream. I am not a dream squasher!<\/p>\n

But I do want you to consider following that dream, but from a slightly different direction.<\/p>\n

The Alt-Ac Route<\/span><\/h3>\n

I pursued an academic teaching career because, to me, a college campus is a small utopia and because my college professors changed my life. To thank them for that, I wanted to follow in their footsteps. But since becoming the\u00a0Assistant Chair, I’ve realized that teaching is NOT the only way to\u00a0live in that utopia and NOT the only way to change the lives of college students.<\/p>\n

Maybe you should consider the Alt-Ac Route. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Alt-Ac means “Alternative Academic,” and here’s a great article about it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, we’ve been archiving our alumni stories, and many are about alternative academic careers. Here’s a list of previous “Stars to Steer By” posts from English majors and grad students who do various things in higher ed.<\/p>\n

It’s a goldmine of advice.<\/span>\u00a0Click on their name to read their post. When possible, I’ve also found the person’s LinkedIn bio and\/or Twitter account and\/or professional bio. (And man, did this take a long time, people.)<\/p>\n

Connect with them. They are your stars to steer by!<\/em><\/p>\n

Student Advising<\/span><\/h3>\n

Alex Wenning<\/strong><\/a>. “I offer this reflection from Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘You have your way. I have my way. As for the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist’.\u201d<\/p>\n