Some kind encouragement (again!), and a new feature: "how can we help you?"

My posting on the Cocoon has been a bit sparse lately, for several reasons. First, I've been unusually busy--with the beginning of the semester, a bunch of deadlines, etc. I haven't had much free time, and when I have had some, I've been exhausted! Second, I've still been struggling a bit with the blogging trilemma I discussed here a while back. My primary aim at the Cocoon has always been to be helpful to early-career people. However, now that years have gone by and I find myself transitioning to what feels more like a more of a mid-career standpoint--I am no longer in grad school, on the job-market, etc.--I am no longer directly grappling with the early-career struggles I once was. Although I am still grappling with many things, they just don't seem quite as important to me to discuss. As most of us already know--and threads like these and mental health studies like these indicate--grad students, job-marketeers, and other early-career people are in a particularly difficult position. While some people may make it through grad school and the job-market pretty cleanly as it were (without great difficulty), indications are that all too many of us have a rough go of it (to put it mildly). Depending on how things go (and a lot of unexpected things can happen), navigating early-career issues in philosophy--everything from developing and maintaining positive, productive relationships with faculty, to dissertating, publishing, and the job-market--can be a real gauntlet. I know, I went through it myself! Further, as these Daily Nous threads indicate (and I also know from experience), it can be a gauntlet that early-career people suffer alone in silence. This is why I've always wanted the Cocoon to be about and for early-career people. I've known too many early-career people who felt lost and alone in their struggles--and so my hope has always been that the Cocoon might help early-career people in whatever way we can. 

Anyway, this brings me to a third main reason my posting has been a bit sparse. Although I am going to sound a bit like a broken record here (as I've given similar lines of encouragement in the past), my feeling is that for the Cocoon to really be helpful to early-career people (or, at least, as helpful as it can be), our early-career readers need to get involved! After all, as the Daily Nous thread I linked to above indicates, the people who know your struggles are you! If you find yourself struggling with things in grad school, or with publishing, the j0b-market, and so on, the Cocoon is a place that can potentially help. But, in order for the community to help, we need to know what you're grappling with! Every once in a while I try to back off of posting so much in the hope that other contributors might post more--and it is has been nice to see Helen, Trevor, and JG contribute some excellent posts lately. But still, we are only a few voices and perspectives.

In the past, when I've discussed these issues, I've issued a new call for contributors--and I'd like to do that again (indeed, I just did!). If you're an early-career philosopher interested in contributing to the Cocoon, either publicly or anonymously, please just let me know at marvan@ut.edu. However, since these calls haven't worked incredibly well in the past (though I'm a perennial optimist), I would also like to begin a new feature, "How can we help you?" This feature will be simple, and we'll see how it goes. Each week, I will simply post an open thread asking how our community can help you! Each thread will be chance for you, our readers, to share in the comment's section--in whatever way you feel comfortable (consistent with the blog's mission)--whatever issues you are struggling with and could use help with (viz. grad school, the job-market, whatever!). My hope is that when we receive submissions, our contributors can then pick up and compose posts on those topics for further discussion. My hope, additionally, is that this will be a good way for those of us (such as Helen and I) who are transitioning out of early-career stage to be as helpful as we can. Anyway, we'll see how it goes...starting now!

So then, how can we help you? What are you struggling with as an early-career person? Which early-career issue(s) could use some help navigating right now?

Comments

[Jerry Green]

Yes! Great idea Marcus! And readers, I'm always open to suggests for blog posts. I'd much rather write about what you find interesting than what I find interesting.

[Damon P. Suey]

I'm not sure if early-grad school counts as early-career, but over the past couple weeks I've found that grad school introduces an entirely new kind of relationship with faculty. As an undergrad, faculty were distant enough to be treated as a kind of authority figure; even if that wasn't weren't strictly their role, you treated them the same way you might have treated your high school principal.

But as a grad student (at least at my school), the faculty want or expect to know you personally, and tend to treat you as something like a colleague rather than a student. As someone who's never really had a professional relationship before, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. Maybe this isn't as widespread an issue as I'd imagine, but I'd love to see a post with some advice on adjusting to and navigating these new relationships.

[patrick arnold]

I could use help by getting a job. Anything will do, really. I am passionate about having health insurance and affording to eat. I will use any of my skills learned in philosophy grad school for any purposes just-about-what-so-ever at the lowest minimum pay in the relevant field. Please hire me for anything and I will do it 10x better than any other applicant at half the cost. I'm serious, ty.

[Marcus Arvan]

Hi Damon: I think you raise a really important issue! I'd be happy to write a post on it ASAP.

[European assistant prof. in North America]

Dear Marcus,

thank you for this post.

I am an European and I am an assistant professor in North America. It was not easy to land this job (or a job at all, for that matter). As many know, Europe is in deep economic troubles and the job market does not offer many opportunities. There are mostly post-docs out there.
This is why many European-trained philosophers try the American job market. Yet, it seems to me that we have a huge disadvantage when we compete with American-trained candidates. Europeans lack pedigree (unless they're from Oxford) and a network. You may come from Very-Prestigious-University-on-the-Continent but barely anybody has ever heard of your institution.
For me it would be useful to discuss these issues:
(a) does it make sense at all for European-trained PhDs to try the American job market, if they are not from Oxford or another highly respected UK institution? Or is it a mere waste of time?
(b) suppose it still make sense to try the job market, is there a way we can address the issue of lack of pedigree and of a network for European candidates?
Thanks.