CCCC 2016Carrie Leverenzc.leverenz@tcu.edu

“Finding a Fit: The Rhet/Comp Job Search, 2014-2015” [slide 1]

Is the job market changing for Rhetoric and Composition PhDs? Given the well-documented increase in non-tenure track and contingent positions, can Rhet/Comp PhDs still expect to land a tenure-track job? Perhaps more important, are Rhet Comp PhDs finding jobs that are a fit?

Today, I’ll be providing an overview of the Rhet/Comp job market for 2014-2015. My data comes from the second year of a three-year study based on a national survey of Rhet/Comp job seekers along with an analysis of job ads published in the JIL. (For preliminary findings for 2013-14 see the Doctoral Consortium website).

First, here’s the big picture you’re already familiar with. As the NSF’s Survey of Earned Doctorates recently reported, while the job market for humanities PhDs is shrinking [slide 2] (only 54% of humanities PhDs found full-time employment in 2014) the number of humanities PhDs being produced is actually increasing. [slide 3]

Percent of Doctorate Recipients With Job or Postdoc Commitments, by Field of Study

Field 2004 2009 2014All 70.0% 69.5% 61.4%Life Sciences 71.2% 66.8% 57.9%Physical Sciences 71.5% 72.1% 63.8%Social Sciences 71.3% 72.9% 68.8%Engineering 63.6% 66.8% 57.0%Education 74.6% 71.6% 64.6%Humanities 63.4% 63.3% 54.3%

“The proportion of doctorate recipients with definite commitments foremployment or postdoc study declined in 2014 for the fifth time in thepast 6 years in every broad non-S&E field of study. The share of doctoraterecipients with definite commitments reached 20-year low points in eachof these non-S&E fields (figure B).”

Number of Doctorate Recipients in the U.S. by Field of Study

Field 2004 2009 2014All 42,123 49.553 54,070

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Life Sciences 8,813 11,403 12,504Physical Sciences 6,047 8,324 9,859Social Sciences 7,043 7,829 8,657Engineering 5,777 7,642 9,568Education 6,653 6,528 4,793Humanities 5,210 4,891 5,486

“highest number reported by the NSF”

Source: Scott Jaschik, “The Shrinking PhD Job Market”Inside Higher Education April 4, 2016 reporting on the NSF’s recently released Survey of Earned Doctorates 2014, published December 2015http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsf16300/digest/nsf16300.pdf

None of this is news to anyone in English. MLA’s report on the 2014-2015 job list has documented a decline in the total number of jobs advertised [slide 4] for the third year in a row as well as a similar decline in tenure-track jobs. [slide 5]

So what does this mean for Rhetoric and Composition PhDs? According to the MLA report, for 2014- 2015, though the total number of jobs advertised decreased [slide 6], the number of tenure track jobs in composition remained steady [ slide 7].

2013-2014 Total ads 928, total for composition 295, total tenure track composition 187, 30.3% of tenure track jobs were in composition,63.4% of jobs in composition where tenure track

2014-2015 Total ads 884, total for composition 297,total tenure track composition 188 31.6 % of tenure track jobs were in composition; 63.3% of jobs in composition were tenure track

But what is hard to know is how many Rhet/Comp job seekers were applying for those jobs and how many landed a satisfactory position. Because many Rhet/Comp programs reside in English departments that often report their placement rates in the aggregate, the numbers of Rhet/Comp graduates and the rate of their success on the job market are often obscured.

Similarly, although MLA reports the number of jobs advertised in each sub-discipline, some ads tagged as composition are not Rhet/Comp jobs as we would define them. So, I analyzed each composition ad carefully, eliminating those preferring a literary or

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creative writing specialization. I also eliminated those requiring only an MA, which removed community college jobs from my count. That is not to say that Rhet/Comp PhDs might not seek a job in a community college, only that such jobs do not require or prefer a PhD in Rhet/Comp.

Using these parameters, here are the numbers of jobs I identified as Rhet/Comp jobs specifically [slide 8]: there were 161 tenure track jobs, 45 non-tenure track renewable jobs, and 15 non-renewable positions, for a total of 221 positions. You’ll see that my numbers are slightly lower than those reported by MLA for the reasons I’ve already described.

My CountTT Composition 161 (positions)NTT-renewable 45 (ads, some multiple positions)NTT-limited term 15 (ads, some multiple positions)Total 221MLA ReportTT Composition 187NTT Composition 93Tenure not specified 15Total 295

[slide 9] Of the 161 tenure track positions I identified, 120 were advertised at the Assistant Professor rank, with an additional 23 at the Assistant or Associate rank. Thus, there were roughly 143 tenure track jobs plus 45 non tenure track renewable positions, for a total of 188 potentially long-term jobs for which new Rhet/Comp PhDs might apply.

And what kinds of jobs were these? In coding the ads, I noted the following frequently recurring specializations [slide 10]

First, of the 161 total tenure-track positions, 75, or roughly half of them, mentioned administrative responsibilities of some kind, now or in the future.More specifically, of the 120 assistant professor positions 44, or about a third, involved some kind of writing program leadership , as did 16 of the non tenure track positions.

Two other prominently mentioned preferred qualifications in the 161 ads for tenure track Rhet/Comp positions included:

Work in Digital rhetoric/new media/multimodal composing 58Ability to teach Technical/professional writing 51

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I also noted that many job ads listed a myriad of desired specializations. If you were a job seeker lucky enough to be experienced in administration and able to teach ESL, multimodal composition, and tech writing, you could probably write your own ticket.

So, did job seekers find a fit? [slide 12]

To help visualize one answer to that question, here’s a word cloud depicting job seekers’ descriptions of their specializations [slide 13], as they reported in my survey, and a graph of how those specializations map onto CCCCs program proposal areas [slide 14]. You’ll note the largest number identified “theory” as their area of primary interest, with computers and writing and interdisciplinary studies a close second and third.

Now here’s a word cloud depiction of the specializations named in job ads [slide 15]

And here are the words that appeared too often to be depicted [slide 16]

One obvious thing is that most job ads focus on teaching assignments, administrative duties, and qualities in a colleague while most job seekers describe their specialization in terms of their research areas.

While this seeming mismatch may simply reflect differences in the conventions of job ads versus academic application letters, it may also signal a conflict between the kinds of jobs RhetComp graduate students are trained to want—a job that values their scholarship—and the kind of work that RhetComp PhDs are being hired to do—largely, to teach writing and to run writing programs.

In my few minutes remaining, I want to make some general observations about the 86 job seekers who responded to my survey.

First, most respondents were on the job market for the first time and were in their 5th year of their program [slide 17]

83.72% (72 of 86 respondents) were on the job market for the first time.22.37% (17 of 76) were in their 4th year43.42% (33 of 76) were in their 5th year7.11% (13 of 76) were in their 6th year7.11% (13 of 76) were in their 7th year

Second, while 39% of participants had finished their dissertations by the time they applied [slide 18], many Rhet/Comp PhDs still apply for jobs in the year they are completing their dissertations

Completed dissertations 39.08% (34)Complete in Spring 2015 16.09% (14)

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Complete in Summer 2015 36.78% (32)Complete in Fall 2016 8.05% (7)

Rhet/Comp job seekers vary widely in their approach to the job market [slide 19] with 21% applying for 10 jobs or fewer and almost 16% applying for more than 80 jobs. I saw this difference played out in the open-ended comments, with some participants saying they wished they had applied for more jobs and others wishing they had applied for fewer. There appears to be no magic formula.

1-10 21.59% 1911-20 12.50% 1121-30 7.95% 731-40 7.95% 741-50 10.23% 951-60 9.09% 861-70 9.09% 871-80 5.68% 5More than 80 15.91% 14

[slide 20] A recent trend that’s important to document is that job applicants are participating in a relatively large number of preliminary interviews, taking place overwhelmingly (86.75%) via phone or video conference. This means that search committees can and do conduct preliminary interviews early, by-pass MLA, and even make offers before MLA, THUS complicating the timeline for decisions by those seeking jobs.

In spite of this challenge, I am happy to report that [slide 21] most of those surveyed (78.75%) accepted full time positions in a college or university, and [slide 22] 60% of those positions were tenure-track. That is certainly better than the NSF’s report that only 54% of humanities PhDs had full-time academic positions of any kind.

But how well did these jobs fit? [slide 23]

Of those who accepted full time positions in a college or university, [slide 24] 77% were satisfied or very satisfied with the jobs they accepted, suggesting that the job market continues to be mostly positive for RhetComp PhDs.

The open ended comments, however, suggest some ways the job search experience could have been more positive. You’ll see on your handout a summary of the kinds of responses I received [slide 25]. Although some respondents expressed surprise at the ease with which they navigated the job search, many job seekers were surprised by the difficulty and emotional pain of their experience. One source of that pain was

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disappointment at the limited number of jobs in general or jobs that fit their expertise. This may be more evidence of a mismatch between expectations and reality. When asked what one thing they would do differently [slide 26], some participants said they wouldn’t do anything differently, while others wished that they had started preparing for the job search earlier, including publishing more, writing more of their dissertations and making different decisions about their career training in general. These comments [slide 27] were echoed in the survey participants’ advice to future job seekers, the most common of which was—diversify, seek varied job training, start early and work on time management, be realistic and consider alternatives. Similarly, [slide 28] job seekers admonished their graduate programs to start earlier in preparing graduate students for the job market, to offer more practical training in things like writing program work, and to provide more personal support to graduate students, especially those who want or need to make alternative career choices. [slide 29]

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Q41 What has been your biggest surprise regarding the job search? [70 responses]

Emotionally and psychologically painful (11)2 How crappy it made me feel (even though I knew better)4 It was soul rending. Despite hearing horror stories from colleagues who had been on the market in previous years, searching for an academic job was by far the worst experience of my life. I would discourage most anyone who asked me if they should pursue academia solely based on how horrific the job search process is. I was surprised that my experience was in line with, if not worse than, the rumors I had heard regarding the job market21 The sheer level of emotional labor and exhaustion involved in searching for jobs.23 How closely tied together the job search and depression is. I am not looking forward to doing it again next year (accepted a Visiting Asst Prof position for a 1 year term)38 How stressful it was even after the steps themselves became routine. I still can't really believe it. Sometimes I dream it's still not over and I have to keep preparing for interviews while surrounded by stacks of books I need to read for my dissertation.42 The emotional toll that it has taken each time I've done it.44 How terrible the experience would be.45 How personally uncomfortable it was at times. We've heavily emphasized community within our cohort, but several of us interviewed for the same jobs (and some of us got campus visits after the initial interview at schools our friends were more interested in). After relying on my colleagues for support for the past few years, it was difficult to experience the fact that I was receiving contact far earlier than they did and they were having difficulty with their own job market experiences. It suddenly felt like I was completely on my own, and the stakes were so high. My family doesn't understand the academic job market, so it was difficult to find personal support. I just didn't expect it to feel so emotional when the search itself was going so well. I know that sounds whiny, but there it is!50 I was an emotional train wreck. I'm also not that person. I'm very laid back, fairly confident in my abilities, and not prone to extreme anxiety or nerves. There were 3 of us in my department who were all doing local searches: this was painful and emotionally trying. I didn't expect it to be so. We tend not to be competitive. But, it was like, inevitable. And, I didn't expect to be so hurt by jobs that didn't hire me. The last two campus visits I had, I felt as though I nailed them. I'm not overly confident, but I did absolutely as well as I could've. So, it was crushing that both jobs went with other people. I will say though: both campus visits were for areas outside of my specialty. (one was in prof writing; the other was a generalist position but one that wanted digital writing).70 The spiritual toll it would take.64 How utterly exhausting the process is, and how much emotional labor goes into the search

Time Consuming/difficult (10)

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1 How time-consuming the applications process, especially for schools with lengthy online applications.13 How it can easily become so all consuming. I hadn't thought I would be checking the wiki daily, or going to the JIL on Friday every hour to see if the updated job list had been posted. I did not like having so much of myself poured into the job search.19 How terrible it was. How much time it took. How little conversation occurred within my department about the actual logistics of applying for jobs.25 The very difficult questions in the telephone/group interview.39 The amount of time it takes in preparing each application.56 The expense. Interfolio fees add up, especially when you are sending out a lot of applications as part of a national search. Interview clothes are expensive. The cost of traveling to MLA or CCCC for interviews (including, this year, the cost of getting a passport to travel to Vancouver). All of these costs came out of pocket with nosupport from the department.58 The amount of time it took to apply, interview, and go through the entire process66 The exhaustion 68 The huge amount of applications and visits for the 1 solid job offer!67 Time. The length of the whole process, and the (sometimes) staggered nature of the interviews / visits. My offers came in several weeks apart and it was difficult navigating the final decision.

The job search was better than I expected/ I was more successful than I expected (10)6 Honestly, the number of interview requests and campus visits I got - way more than I expected, and way better than colleagues who I feel have similar qualifications.14 How pleasant the work of meeting with future employers was, and how helpful the process was to helping me develop my dissertation.37 Multiple offers and how I reasoned through decisions among several good choices40 How plentiful Rhet/Comp jobs are.41 I did not anticipate having so many first round interviews; however, I think the shift towards video and phone interviews as opposed to in person/MLA creates opportunities for potential employers to screen more applicants.51 Search committees were sometimes more disorganized than I expected. Overall, the process was not as terrible as I had expected, though.52 That I got an offer at all given the current climate in higher ed. I assumed that my visiting position would expire and I'd be adjuncting next year57 It was easy.60 The small yet dynamic community of rhet/comp scholars65 It was easier than I expected

Poor treatment/unfair or illogical process (9)12 How poorly new PhDs are treated by more advanced members of the profession.20 The waiting to hear from committees, even those with very early deadlines took months to respond

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22 How terrible academic departments/programs are at communicating the receipt of an application, or basicfeedback about the decision-making processes involved. How many job searches these days are "fake" searches that hire known faculty and PhD students who are already on staff in the hiring university.26 I was surprised by how many searches were cancelled or didn't proceed to interviews. I submitted 40 applications to research intensive universities, but I would have bumped that number up a bit if I had realized that 5 - 7 of those searches would be withdrawn entirely, or filled with scholars much more senior than the search seemed to originally indicate.27 The process is almost complete mystery to me even after submitting almost 70 applications, prepping for and participating in 17 interviews, and going on a few campus visits.36 Number of applications that ended in no contact from school - no word on how search going43 How completely random it is.62 The disciplinary politics of what is and what is not a degree in composition and rhetoric. I'm in a program that counts itself among the members of the Consortium of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition, and I consider myself a compositionist and my dissertation is a writing skill transfer study with implications for WAC administration. So I was upset when some people suggested my degree is not a "real comp/rhet degree."63 There is a hidden rubric! I got campus visits for jobs that I thought had no connection to my profile, and didn't even make it past the first round for jobs I thought I was a perfect fit for. There are many things people are looking for that they don't advertise.

Jobs available were not a good fit (9)9 How few jobs were a good fit for my qualifications and research interests28 Not sure people are really happy about hiring candidates with digital skills. Seems like they want people with limited skills because they assume that means a better focus on writing studies.29 I was surprised I ended up accepting a job outside the discipline (in Communications). After being on the job market, I realized that my dissertation which focused on audio-visual writing and working with digital mediatranslated better in communications positions, and was not as widely accepted in rhet/comp. In other words, although I applied to many jobs that called for a specialization in digital rhetoric/digital media, I did not get first/second interviews for those positions.31 The amount of schools increasing the international student body, and therefore needing more ELL instructors32 I was surprised that the jobs I got interviews for were often less related to my own area of expertise. In other words, I applied for many digital writing/computers and writing jobs and had little luck. However, I had much more luck when the job ads were more general (the specialty was open).

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34 how many jobs required either experience in administration, research in technical writing, or research in digital media35 how unimportant the dissertation seems to be49 I was surprised that graduate students in the program were not encouraged to pursue jobs beyond R/C. There's some encouragement from the Graduate School to pursue non-academic jobs, but little support within the program to pursue anything outside of positions that are TT positions in English or R/C departments. Most of ourpreparation assumes we will accept and want positions at a research university.59That committees saw me as a WPA

Nature of the jobs/qualifications (7)11 How many of the jobs had administrative responsibilities16 The very specific specialties that are being asked for.18 How many technical/scientific/medical jobs there were and how fewer wpa/theory/etc. than in previous years46 how little they asked about my dissertation/research in job interviews54 Low salaries61 The prevalence of administrative and TESOL positions69 The difference between research and teaching institutions' expectations and learning how to craft applications to particular institutions

Not enough jobs/lack of success (6)5 Scott Walker (and other governors) cutting education funding.8 I have a killer CV, excellent teaching evals and didn't get a job offer. That floored me. I think having passed the defense is a major weeder.10 How next to impossible it is to actually find employment--at my (research 1, well regarded) institution, there were 13 of us on the job market. Exactly ZERO of us even got a campus visit, let alone a job offer for an academic job.24 The divide between English and Comp/Rhet, and the low number of tenure-track institutions47 That claims about the comp-rhet market being so much better than the literature market were overblown.48 How bad the market is! My colleague and I have seen a lot of estimates of 200 or so TT jobs but we can't list more than 155 genuine rhet/comp positions. And how many of the best jobs were taken by people who already had assistant professor jobs, which is very dispiriting.

Inconsistent deadlines/timing (4)3 The uncertainty of the timing. Deadlines seemed to spread from September through February, and I keep seeing new ones advertised. One position at a branch of my home university wasn't advertised until after I had already accepted a position in a new city.15 The timing can be very different for each person's job search. I feel that my run on the market was very successful, but my success came weeks and even months after my colleagues. It was very stressful to see others scheduling interviews, when I had none,

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and the same happened with campus visits and job offers. It worked out just as well for me as it did for them in the end, but I had no idea that the timing could be so different for different applicants.33 The timeline is all over the place. I accepted a job fairly early on because I couldn't afford to gamble on getting another offer.55 The inconsistency and uncertainty of timing correspondence at any and all stages of the application process.

No surprises (4)7 No major surprises.17 I don't know that any of it surprised me, really.30 Nothing. I knew what I was getting into and felt completely prepared53 n/a

Q42 What one thing do you wish you would have done differently in preparation for the job search?

Published (6)1 Submitted an article for publication before applying17 I wish I could have published more and been better prepared to discuss my research. I could talk specifically about my dissertation, but discussing my research more generally was very difficult.24 published more, focused more on my job letter and not on my dissertation abstract (I don't think I was ever asked for it).25 Have a published article ready as a sample46 Published more62 I wish I had published a couple of articles before beginning my job search.

Prepared for the job search differently (11)8 Re-evaluated letters of recommendation19 My job search? Talk with more people outside of my dept. who do work similar to mine re: application strategies.20 My department is, for the most part, clueless and yet thinks they are experts re: applying for jobs in this field and what makes for an attractive candidate. It's a bad combination.28 I would have prepped for interviews differently.68 I wish I had been better prepared for the job talk and teaching demonstrations (different at each campus visit) 44 made my work more accessible to a general rhet/comp audience. 52 read more on professional writing--be able to talk more about this area and how I could teach it. 49 I feel interviews take a lot of practice. I was really nervous and it was hard for me to answer the questions confidently. I wish I had practiced more, but I took advantage of every opportunity offered by my institution and

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couldn't have done more even though I wanted to.64 Prepared more for cantankerous faculty member comments during my research talks 65 Learned more about the class offerings I might teach. 63 Managed my time better.

Prepared for the job search earlier (10)3 I would have tried to prepare my materials earlier, in the summer before the market season, so that I could give (e.g.) my teaching philosophy to my recommenders before they wrote their letters. To do this, I would have wanted to view an archive of last year's job ads so that I could mock-apply to particular programs, rather than trying to write for an idealized or abstracted position. (This year, I mostly prepared materials just before deadlines.) Another change: this year I asked my recommenders to address their letters to particular schools, even if all that changed was the address at the top; this meant that I had a crowded list of files in Interfolio, and they could not be re-purposed if I discovered a new position at the last minute. If I had to do it over again, I would ask for more reusable letters for the Interfolio file, maybe one version for a research-focused school and one for a teaching-focused school. (I would still give my recommenders the list of schools I was planning to apply to, in case they had personal connections there and wanted to customize or supplement the letter.)4 I wish I would have applied to jobs during my fourth year, just so I could have seen how difficult the process is. I feel I'm much better equipped having done this once, and would have more success if I attempted it again.9 Start earlier in preparing job search documents21 Prepared all my documents the summer before I began searching.26 The establishment of a stronger online presence and electronic portfolio of teaching/course materials29 Had more time.37 Had better cover letter early on 40 Worked on creating documents that would support the job application process over the summer, before jobs were released in the fall, since job search plus full time teaching plus managing family was incredibly difficult.47 Maybe revised my CV a little earlier? The process worked for me, so I don't know. I was required to submit a full draft of my dissertation to my chairs on Sept 1 before going on the market, and I will absolutely say that made the difference between succeeding and failing for me. I wouldn't have had time to finish it in the winter term if I had not had that draft complete, and I wouldn't have understood my own research well enough to write and talk about it for the job market.53 Started mock interviews sooner. My current institution does prepare us with mock interviews, but they weren't scheduled until late October/early November--I had already done several phone/Skype interviews by then.

Nothing (10)13 I applied to three jobs this year and landed my dream job. I know my story is an anomaly, and I don't tell people that I only applied for three jobs. I am very fortunate in

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how my job search worked out. To be completely honest, it was painless––and I feel a bit sheepish sharing that. My campus visit was a delight. For instance, my interview with the department chair was a walk along the waterfront watching the crew teams row their boats. My interview with the Provost was over a cup of tea. I hear so many job hunt horror stories and I am thankful those weren't at all my experience. I don't think I would have done anything differently. My advisor prepared me well. I had mock interviews, I drafted my materials countless times, and I read Kathryn Hume's book Surviving Your Academic Job Hunt and everything from The Professor Is In website.31 Nothing 32 Nothing. I am satisfied. 34 I don't think I could have done anything differently to make it better. 41 Nothing. Turning my back on literary study was the best decision I have made professionally and personally. 43 I don't know. 45 n/a 54 I can't think of anything... 55 I'm happy with my level of preparation 59 n/a

Applied for fewer jobs (8)7 Focus more on the jobs that fit me well and less on casting a wide net.14 I wish I would have been more selective in the institutions I applied to.33 I applied to 45 schools, and I ended up getting almost *too* many interviews, if that's possible! It ended up takingup so much of my time preparing for interviews and campus visits that I actually wish I'd been more selective during the application process.42 I would like to have been more selective in my job applications. 67 Applied to less jobs. I think I should have narrowed my search and only applied to the jobs I really wanted. I went overboard. The jobs I interviewed for were the ones I was really excited about and would have applied to in a more narrowed search.69 I would not apply for so many jobs. I would prepare for alternatives57 I was encouraged to "cast a wide net" and apply to as many jobs as I was qualified for, but I wish I had tailored my search from the beginning, applied to fewer jobs, and spent more time on those limited applications. I knew Iwanted a teaching-intensive job at a small school, and I feel like I wasted a lot of time and divided a lot of my energies applying to several different kinds of jobs at several different kinds of institutions. 66 I was qualified for and applied to 3 kinds of jobs (WC director, WPA/Research, and digital rhetoric). I wish I had narrowed my focus earlier in the search.

Different Training (6)11 Taken on more administrative responsibilities as a graduate student; published more peer-reviewed articles; developed a more robust research agenda beyond the dissertation

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35 been given opportunity to WPA during graduate school 36 sought online teaching opportunities while in grad school through other universities 48 I would have taken more opportunities to teach online courses 50 I have a single authored journal article in a major journal, but it's not a rhet/comp journal and I think that hurt me. I would have focused more on the rhet/comp side of things.56 Received my PhD from another institution. I believe pedigree (university reputation for PhD granting institution) is the top most important factor for people getting jobs-- it at least opens doors that otherwise remain closed.

Written more of my dissertation (5)6 Completed more of my dissertation prior to going on the market. I only had one chapter drafted by the time started sending out materials15 I wish that I had made more progress on my dissertation before going on the market. The market consumed all of my time, and now I am frantically working to finish up over the summer. I didn't realize how much time and energy the job market would take, and am paying for that now as I work to simultaneously finish my degree and preparefor my full time position in the fall.16 Finished my dissertation sooner38 I wish I'd been further along in my dissertation. It all got done/defended/uploaded, but it was a struggle. Maybe it's always a struggle, but I think the timing of everything made it particularly and unnecessarily difficult.61 I wish my dissertation had been completed by the time I went on the market

Improved my well being (5)2 Relaxed more and trusted my mentors27 I didn't realize how physically demanding all that travel and campus visiting would be. And it comes right on the heels of months chained to your desk writing your dissertation. If I could have done it differently, I would have allocated a little more time to my health and fitness to make those grueling campus visits a little less grueling.39 Made a plan for keeping things in perspective. Both my mental health and my performance as a candidate went downhill when my tunnel vision about the process passed a certain point. I am not confident it was worth it, even though I did ultimately secure one of my top choices.51 I wish that I wouldn't have given into the fear-mongering about how slim the chances were that we would get a job. I applied to a lot of positions I didn't really want, and I took a position partly because the money is good and Iwas scared. This Spring many jobs have opened up that I feel better prepared to accept and more interested in.60 I wish I had had more confidence and was better able to manage my anxiety.

Changed Career Path (4)5 Switched to rhet/comp earlier in my graduate education.10 Not gotten a PhD.

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12 I wish I had realized that alt-ac jobs were a better fit for me earlier on and had done more to gain experience towards that kind of employment.23 Join a new field, or look for a job in this field 5 to 10 years ago. Find a time machine and apply when things hadn't already fallen apart.

Applied for more jobs (3)18 Taken more risks earlier with my cover letter. I followed the formula I was told to use for four years, as soon as I broke away from that I had a flood of interview requests. applied for everything I qualified for from the beginning22 I wish I would have applied for more jobs.30 I wish I would have applied to more positions, even the ones I thought I was not qualified for/interested in.

Other58 I could have waited longer and accepted a higher-paying position.

Q44 If you could offer one piece of advice to your graduate program for improving preparation for the jobs available for Rhetoric and Composition PhDs, what would it be?

More practical training (17)12 My program prides itself on students' unusual and interdisciplinary projects. My advice to them would be to prepare students to speak to the center of the field. The vast majority of jobs I encountered were aimed towards a more conservative vision of the field.14 I would advise my graduate program to help job seekers prepare more intentionally for administrative positions. 22 A course that directly addresses what has happened to the field as a whole, why, and what it means to all involved.24 Teach students how to develop courses, curriculum, and administer programs. More WPA training essentially. 26 In my new appointment teaching primarily grad students, I have the beginnings of a notion to design a writing intensive course that prepares students for both the dissertating process and job market. We could theorize organizational approaches and processes, how to find jobs and research programs and scholars, how to write job letters and polish teaching and research materials, how to build professional presence websites and to work onraising a scholarly profile. I'm still thinking about it, but I feel like professionalizing grad students and scaffolding the administrative processes of doing administrative and scholarly work together could be a good course.34 Make sure students have opportunities for administrative work whenever possible, as this was a hugely common expectation or desire.35 Every rhetoric and composition graduate student should have real WPA experience and administrative philosophy

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38 Focus on offering students multiple opportunities to teach online. Help students focus on conducting strong, interdisciplinary research.39 Make sure you can talk in specifics about more than just your teaching and research. Encourage all but the most research-focused candidates to draft an Admin Philosophy as well as a Teaching Philosophy - if only as preparation for interviews.43 More hands on CAREER preparation, as opposed to just academic, teaching, and administrative preparation. In other words, I wish I'd had more directed thinking about what it means to do the job of a faculty member.55 Make them teach professional writing and learn how to computer. 56 Expose us to technical communication, even if it is just mentioning journals we should look into, etc. 61 I think my program does a great job, but I think it could do better if trained students in rhetoric, composition, and higher ed. administration. At times one or more of these is privileged too much over the others, and I think thosewith training in all three areas have done the best.67 Offering more administrative opportunities. Seems like that was a big think in many job ads I read. 64 I got my job because of my administrative, community engagement, and teaching experience. These things are no longer highlighted in graduate classes or new faculty hires in my program, and the initiatives that gave methese opportunities are in tenuous positions at my university. These initiatives (like the National Writing Project site and service-learning programs) need to be better supported, because they impact graduate student jobplacement. Theory does not get most people jobs--practice does.10 I would tell them to make it clear up front that academic jobs are not really on offer and the nature of the job market is really changing (when I came in, my institution was advertising something ridiculous like a 99% job placement rate in tenure track jobs; my experience in the program has been that that is decidedly untrue) and to better teach students to articulate their skills in terms that will make sense outside of academia. In other words, less emphasis on theory, more emphasis on application. Perhaps even offering teaching reductions or coursework reductions to complete professional internships off campus, etc.30 More leadership roles in the department (writing assessment oversight and evaluation, an active role in designing department writing resources, etc). Also, I think more workshops and job training resources and involvement fromfaculty would be really helpful.

Start preparing grad students for the job search early (14)7 Start advising graduate students about the job market as early as possible, have them read job posts, craft job materials during/within coursework, and provide opportunities for teaching and administrative work.16 Have practice interviews for those on the job market. 20 Talk honestly with students from day 1 about how difficult it is to get a job in this field, especially coming from a grad program that has zero reputation/name in the field.

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25 Suggest GTAs establish electronic portfolios of their teaching materials from the start of their program. 29 To offer workshops for feedback on job materials before the positions open, so that we could apply for jobs as they are advertised.32 Not just do mock research talks, but also mock teaching demonstrations. 42 Offering more advice earlier on about how to become aware of trends and shifts in the field. 48 job materials embedded into curriculum MUCH earlier (teaching portfolio, teaching philosophy, etc) 49 I heard that other institutions require ABD grad students to take a class before the go on the job search. I would have been helped by such a class because putting together application materials takes a huge amount of time(and I only applied to 9 programs). Additionally, I felt I needed lots of practice with interviews and I feel I was unable to secure a position because of my insecurity and resulting poor performance in the preliminary interviews.40 Rhetoric and Composition-specific job search workshops 52 Don't wait until students are on the job market to prepare them. Start sooner, like a semester or two before they plan the enter the job market.59 Start writing job materials earlier than the summer leading up to the job market. 65 Have more workshops, support, and meetings for job market candidates than what is already offered three times a semester.66 Start the CV/cover letter/speciality description earlier, perhaps alongside the development of the prospectus.

Support for alternative career choices/personal support (12)13 I would like there to be more discussion of jobs outside the academy. I have a friend who took a wonderful job in community literacy. Hers is a story many could benefit from hearing, but there is so much emphasis with Comp Rhet as a whole on landing the TT job that alternative academic jobs don't get much (if any) attention.27 Prepare us for work outside academia and work in student affairs/administration (outside teaching/faculty positions).23 Stop pedaling the Phd as a way to a job. Tell students to come because they love learning and they want to find a place full of fellow geeks who love dissecting the term 'ahistorical'.8 Remind us that we aren't failures if our first job out isn't a top-tier institution. I thought you always slid down from your PhD institution, but turns out that many people move up after their first job.45 Apply for what you want. Ignore the urgings of professors to seek the research heavy, teaching light jobs. If this is what you want, you'd better publish and right now!50 Less fear-mongering. More support for the variety of positions that R/C PhDs can apply to. 51 counseling. Two things I didn't know: 1. the market is different time-wise for different people: I had a late market, I had friends with a very early market. I started to freak out in January, most of my interviews were after that--I

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didn't know how common that was. 2. I just didnt' expect it to be so emotional. I wish I had known. Otherwise, our grad chair and department seriously prepped us. In fact, as noted earlier, they offered support beyond what I got that I didn't take (as in, the director offered us anything else we needed: him to set up meetings for us with other faculty, more practice with interviews, more feedback on documents beyond what was already done, etc.) Additionally, when I had the one offer: two faculty members chatted with me on the phone and skype to talk about what to do, how to negotiate, etc.54 I would say more discussion of various types of contingent positions (especially administrative ones) and what to look for/avoid58 Don't assume all students' goal is to secure full-time employment in the academy. Learn about non-academic job markets and career paths and prepare students for those as well.60 Help students develop very flexible profiles in terms of the kinds of jobs they may take, rather than focusing on research interests.68 rather than gearing everyone up for an R1 position, address the different types of institutions and requirements early on. Not everyone wants an R1 job.70 Give us concrete alternatives. We are experts in writing and the research of writing. Why is academia -with its uncertainty, crappy salaries, etc. - seen as the only choice?

Offer more/different Rhet/Comp courses (9)2 Continue supporting comp/rhet students by running comp/rhet courses taught by comp/rhet faculty! To its credit, the program has done a number of helpful things like inviting back recent alumni to talk about their experiences on the job market and in new jobs. In the context of our English program, though, comp/rhet is very much a minority in a sea of literary criticism, and we've had a number of recent retirements by comp/rhet faculty that leave us understaffed. I like that our comprehensive exams require comp/rhet students to learn something about literature pre-1800 and since -- I think it helps me be a good colleague to understand these approaches and to have at least a cursory knowledge of authors and theorists -- but I would love to see that become a two-way street. I think we would see more lit scholars taking comp/rhet classes, and comp/rhet students and faculty alike would learn to better articulate what we know and what we value as members of our field.5 Offering a course in technical/professional writing (pedagogy). There were a lot of jobs that asked for this qualification.18 More courses (both graduate course and undergraduate teaching opportunities) in technical writing. 33 My biggest problem was that the courses weren't related to my field of study. I'm not sure exactly how the program can fix this, since it's a small program and I was the only one with this particular specialty. Perhapsoffering independent studies might help? We certainly had faculty with my area of expertise but they often didn't offer related courses.36 offer a wpa course 44 grad courses that more carefully address the various aspects of the field. 53 Require coursework in multiple concentrations within rhet/comp so your grads can

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talk somewhat intelligently to other rhet/comp folks during their phone interviews and campus visits.69 Develop graduate courses that align with the job market and provide depth and breadth of field 62 To ensure that students have a clear curricular foundation within the program.

Help grad students publish/support for scholarship (7)1 Help graduate students publish. 9 Push students to publish a journal article BEFORE beginning the dissertation process. An applicant who is ABD and who also has no publications lands in nearly every slush pile.17 Help students publish more, and help students learn how to talk about their research. 19 Encourage students to publish! 21 Encourage students to work on job docs in advance of going on the market and get students to publish. 37 Travel funds 46 Help students publish more!

My program did a good job (6)15 I really feel that I was well prepared for the market, and don't think my program needs to make changes to prepare students for the jobs that are available. I do think, however, that more preparation for the market itselfwould be useful.28 My program did fine, I think, although I wish someone had warned me of the hidden prejudice against technology specialists.31 Love my program. Feel like I have access to all the people/resources/advice I need if I seek it out 41 Keep doing what you're doing. 47 Mostly, keep doing what you're doing! We all got jobs this year. 63 I think my institution did well, but a discipline-based 'dossier workshop' would have been nice.

Expand Funding (2)11 Expand funding into summers so that graduate students can be financially secure as they prepare for the job market57 Extend funding for students to allow people more time to not only complete their dissertations but to also professionalize and gain more diverse teaching and administrative experience--things that are all the more important as the job market becomes more and more competitive

Encourage a wide search (1)3 It can't be emphasized enough that applicants should more or less apply for everything. I thought I would perform a "smart search" and only apply to jobs that

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matched up really well with my training. I ended up getting very little attention from these applications, and got most attention from the few jobs I applied to that only matched my areas of study tangentially.

Reduce Admissions (1)6 reduce incoming class sizes. and have faculty willing to work with graduate students on a. research/dissertation and b. job market preparation

.Other (1)4 Haha - recognize that we exist. Lol. No, but really, they're a bit jealous that the small cohort of rhet/comp students have all gotten TT jobs.

Q45 If you could offer one piece of advice to current graduate students about how to be prepared for the jobs available for Rhetoric and Composition PhDs, what would it be?

Gain varied experience/Diversify (18)11 Gain as much high level administrative experience as you can because it will prepare you to talk and think like a professor. Pay attention to those in your department who are not tenure track or graduate students. They are doing a ton of the work of the profession and deserve your recognition and respect, especially if you get a tenure track job with administrative responsibilities. And lastly, don't be afraid to look outside the university. There are amazing jobs that allow greater real-world impact and still allow you to apply what you've learned in your degree.29 Do a lot of administrative work! 32 Seek out administrative positions, opportunities outside of your concentration 5 diversify14 I think that diversifying your experience as much as possible is very useful. Many jobs asked for such a wide array of qualifications that it seems like the wider the range of your credentials, the more likely you will be to get a job. That said, however, I think the most important thing is to be passionate about the work that you specialize in. People want to be excited about the work their colleagues are doing, and the best way to get people excited is to be excited yourself. If you are truly invested in your work and can articulate why it matters, you will be able to get people interested in your project. And, if you strive to make connections between that work and the mission of a particular institution or department, you will be able to show what you have to offer in a clear and compelling way that will help the search committee to not just see you as an applicant, but as a colleague.17 Take courses, teach courses, and include in your research technical/scientific/medical or digital writing and rhetorics21 Rhetoric, for the past 2 years, has been very hard to place in English programs. If you have stats experience and can pitch yourself to a theory/cultural studies/Com department, I think you'll have better luck. Or go super composition-y.

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33 serve on university faculty committees and develop a robust set of course materials that you can show in print and online forms. and save a few thousand $ for this process36 Diversify everything - teaching, service, admin service, who you work with for research, what kind of writing you do, etc. If you have many kinds of experiences you can talk about thoughtfully, it will be much easier to convey who you are as a candidate in your interviews clearly and confidently.38 Strive to build varied experience in teaching and administration.39 Try to take as generalist an approach in your preparation as possible; having skill sets across rhet comp can be very useful.45 Look at job ads now and take any teaching/admin opportunities that the market seems to be looking for. 50 Take advantage of all opportunities in your department for teaching and administrative work.53 Teach professional writing and learn how to computer. 54 Technical Communication! Learn it, know it, use it. Teach it. 55 Focus on getting a range of teaching and administrative experiences, especially experience with assessment, professional writing, digital writing, and teaching diverse student populations. Developing "dream classes" and upper-division writing courses will be less important than demonstrating that you can do the bread-and-butter work of a writing program.56 Don't expect to get a job just because you wrote a dissertation and taught in a university. You have to know how to be a leader, an organizer, and a great communicator.58 To learn to be flexible in terms of the kinds of jobs they may take, in addition to research interests, and to make sure they're building as diverse a CV as possible (e.g., publishing, service, admin work, a range of teaching, etc.).

Start early/ Time management (10)6 Start asking questions about the job market as early as possible in the PhD program. Ask questions about reading job posts, crafting job materials during/within coursework, and ask for opportunities for teaching and administrative work. You have to initiate these conversations; your professors are extremely busy!7 Make it a matter of daily, constant effort instead of freaking out and doing it all at once. 10 A lot of your work will get done in the summer; timing is everything; most things are out of your control; seek advice/guidance from multiple mentors. Work diligently/constantly/proactively. Write and revise often.12 Start drafting your materials a year in advance and have people outside your committee read them. Your committee is too close to the project to be able to discern whether your cover letter is legible to outsiders.23 Allow a significant amount of time to prepare the needed materials for the application process. Go ahead and start preparing your teaching portfolio as soon as possible.26 Start the job search a year early, as if you were applying to say half a dozen places.

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Get the experience of applying and start creating job materials in advance.27 Get materials ready early and submit to as many jobs as you can. 28 be yourself and try to have fun 46 practice, practice, practice 61 Directly ask faculty at your home institution to name the skills and experiences that they think make you an attractive applicant.66 Draft you job market materials early and often. Be open and flexible as possible in applying--geographically as well as professionally.

Be realistic/consider alternatives (11)13 Do what you can do ... this process is so unpredictable. When places don't want you, it's not about you, and when they do, pay close attention to your sense of whether or not the position is a good fit!18 Look outside of rhet and comp--look outside of academia. 20 Be much more realistic about the debt you are taking on and the unlikelihood that you will find a meaningful career trajectory in this field.25 Tenure track faculty positions aren't the only possibility for PhDs or ABDs. 31 Be prepared for a long job season. 34 Be prepared for nationwide search 35 Be sociable and engaging. Defensiveness is rarely appreciated so learn to accept and respond to pointed questions with grace and even gratitude. Often, these tough questions are very helpful as you finish your dissertation project. Focus ONLY on the job market. Get your applications finished in summer, review and finesse in early fall, be ready by October 1 and pace yourself because this race runs through March. Learn to talk about money; be creative in what you ask for in addition to money; make sure you understand the whole bloody package (are benefits matching or in addition to base salary, e.g.?)42 Get out. The field is overpopulated. Universities will do their best to exploit you. If you stay in learn to say "no" even if it means turning down offers (and staying on the market for years).44 I've actually done a professional development [workshop] and created resources for this. I tell them that it looks different for everyone, and the best thing you can do is apply widely and don't discount schools before you actually talk to them. In most cases, I advise not discounting any job before the campus visit.62 Apply for everything! 68 Understand that it brings anxieties whether you get the job or not, and prepare for alternatives.

Publish (9)8 Get a journal article submitted at least a year before your first run on the job market. 19 Publish more than once before you enter the market and get your materials together before MLA list drops. 24 If you're applying for a tenure-track position, you're being considered alongside scholars who have been on the market already a year or two, or scholars who want to

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move from a non-tenure track to a tenure-track position. They will have scholarly track records to point to. And search committees only have a packet of job materials and a Skype interview to imagine what kind of scholar you will grow to be, so publish something by your third or fourth year in the program and have presented at a couple of national, disciplinary conferences by the time you are on the market. Have those already completed and in your c.v. that you can reference in your letter where you discuss your research and in your interviews when you talk about your plans for your scholarship. These key pieces of information will better project your future potential for a search committee.30 Try to turn seminar papers into publications. Comparing my experience with my colleagues, publications seemed to be one of the biggest factors for success on the job market.37 Publishing before graduation. 43 Do research (even if it's on your own teaching) and try to get it published. 47 Publish! And keep your eyes open. Don't listen when people insist the job market is fine in rhet comp. Be skeptical. Fill that CV.Publish. 51 Get published, and be prepared to go where the job is. 52 Talk to as many people as possible...those who were recently on the market, mentors/advisors that you respect, etc.60 Publish when you are able.

Make your work meaningful outside your institution/network (7)1 I would advise lurking on some disciplinary listservs, like WPA-L or WCENTER, at least a year and a half in advance of going on the market, to gain an ambient awareness of the current conversations and controversies. No need to read every message, but checking in on a separate gmail inbox once a week or so to see what threads have the most posts (or the most interesting subject lines) could make for more informed application materials and conversations. And the earlier this starts, the more likely it will be to help shape the direction of the dissertation and service grad students participate in. There's always more to do than we have time for; the thing to do, then, is to find the intersection between what you like and what others want. Maybe.2 Do the work it takes to present your experiences in a manner that is meaningful outside of your institution. While everyone at my school thought I was great, people reading my applications didn't respond to what I'd written. I chalk that up to my inability to present my experiences in a manner that resonated outside of my immediate sphere of influence.9 Do all you can off campus to network with people outside of academia, because no one on campus is going to know how to help you in that regard.22 Make sure your dissertation relates directly to your teaching. 40 Build a support network in the field before you leave graduate school--people who do work similar to yours, people who do different work, people in jobs that you think you want, and people in jobs you know you don't want. It seems to me to be nearly impossible to quantify how unsettling the job search is, so the more people you have to

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talk to who understand the process, who can support you without being in a position to judge you, and who can help you get some perspective, the better.59 Graduate programs can only do so much for you as a student. You will have to supplement in some areas. Find mentors both in and outside your program that you trust to facilitate your work and professional relationships.67 Network with previous graduates and those who have made it through the job market successfully

Access support (4)3 Listen to / pay for the webinars from The Professor Is In. 4 Get a therapist - seriously. It was the most emotionally draining experience of my life and having support was really, really important.41 Network widely and take advantage of your campus's mental health facilities. 49 Find ways to sustain yourself: yoga, friends and family, etc. It's brutal. Also: getting a job may have nothing to do with how you do in interviews.

Be yourself/figure out what you want (4)57 Be yourself in all of your materials. You don't want to "sell" someone that isn't who you truly are. 63 Early in your studies, really think about what kind of job you want and why, and make your record in grad school reflect that you want that kind of job.64 Think carefully about what you want your daily life to look like once you're in a position and aim for the job that gets you closest to that reality.65 Be yourself. Apply for jobs that you are most qualified for and excited about. Don't stretch your qualifications

Finish your dissertation (3)15 Finish your dissertation before beginning a job search. 16 Learn how to discuss your research, finish drafting your dissertation before the job search really starts. 48 Don't spend the summer before thinking about the job market. Spend it writing your dissertation. And, then ask everyone to read your materials and to listen to your answers to standard questions.

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