By: Iris

Iris — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 16:13:46 +0000

First Remove the word possibly from Doctorate. You will DEFINITELY need a datcorote (commonly called a PhD) in order to have even a small chance at being a college professor.I’m going to start with the bad news first, just to get it out of the way: The job market for college English professors is TERRIBLE, and it’s very difficult to get in. For example, only 50% of the students who earned a PhD in Renaissance studies (Shakespeare and his contemporaries, which is one of the easier jobs to land) got tenure track jobs at universities. Only half. The other half, after spending 4 years in undergraduate college and another 5 to 7 years getting their PhD’s, did not get a job. You need to know that now.The first step is to get your undergraduate degree. It really should be in English, and you should start thinking about what areas within English interest you the most (writing, American literature, Theory, Modernism, etc). Tell your college advisor EARLY that you are interested in pursuing a PhD. He/She will (after probably trying to talk you out of it) help you get involved in things that will boost your resume and give you a better application for graduate school.After you get your Bachelor’s degree (your undergraduate), you will need to apply to Graduate school. Some programs only offer a Masters degree (which takes 1 to 2 years), while others continue right on to the PhD. You can expect to spend AT LEAST 5 years in graduate school, where you will take classes on your specific area of interest (mine Is Shakespeare), write papers, and present those papers at conferences. You will also likely be expected to teach a few undergraduate courses at this time. In graduate school, an A is the expected grade, a B is a poor grade, and a C is (literally) a failing grade. It takes A LOT of work, and that’s only if you get in. I know people who had OUTSTANDING undergraduate records, who got rejected from all of the Graduate schools they applied to.Once you have your PhD in hand, you start looking for jobs. This is also very competitive. The last time my university had an English opening, they had over 200 applicants for the job.I would recommend that, while in undergrad, you double major in English and Education. Like the previous answer recommended Get your high school teaching certification. That gives you something to fall back on if you have trouble getting into graduate school or getting a job at a University. Chase your dream, but have something ready in case you can’t catch it.

Comments on: Planning My Senior Year: College Visits & College Apps

By: Iris