Some Concrete Suggestions For Racially Underrepresented Students of Philosophy

These are some good ones from Leiter Reports, particularly about financing you education.

Some Concrete Suggestions about How to Increase the Racial Diversity of the Philosophy Profession

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Google's "in-house Philosopher"

Thanks to Professor Eason for this pointer. 
Just one of the many things you can do with your PhD in philosophy is apparently work for Google, pretty interesting stuff. Ethics and technology is a giant section of employment outside academia for philosophers be it bio-ethics, marketing, or advising. Anything which is important to our society is a great opportunity for philosophical, or at least ethical, employment. Pick one thing you are engaged with everyday and then think and expand upon the classical ethical systems and how they apply to said activity. Then all you have to do is write a book or send an email to the companies who do it!

The technology industry needs to think long and hard about ethics, according to Googler Damon Horowitz.
Horowitz has co-founded several startups, and he’s currently a director of engineering at Google. But he also has a Ph.D. in philosophy and apparently holds the title of “in-house philosopher” at the search giant.

Full article HERE

Job Market: 2010 vs 2011

Our friends over at The Philosophy smoker posted a question about whether more or less jobs were posted this year. 

So far this post has not received many responses but the two so far suggest that the job market is actually getting BETTER!

I would really appreciate anyone who is on the job market commenting on this issue. 

http://philosophysmoker.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-did-this-year-compare-with-last.html

Religious College Interviews

For those philosophers who are interested in applying to religious universities, the application process may be a little different. This article give a good outline of what do expect.

By Susan VanZanten at Inside Higher Ed

Interview processes at colleges and universities typically cover three areas — scholarly goals, teaching abilities and collegial potential — but if you land an interview at a religiously affiliated institution, you may find some additional emphases, unusual twists, and unexpected encounters. Here’s what to expect and how to prepare:

http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2011/05/16/essay_on_interviewing_at_religious_colleges

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Philosophy Job Applications: Getting Through Phase One

The following is a summery of the main point made in a post on The Combat Philosopher regarding getting a job in philosophy. This post focuses on getting through the first round of the application. That is to say, getting to the interview at the APA. These are some suggestions from someone who has worked on hiring commitees. I suggest reading the whole post Here.

Summery of The Combat Philosopher's post copied and pasted:


Having served on numerous hiring committees, both in philosophy and in another discipline, I have a few words of advice for people who are going on the market.


1.  It is a profound mistake, though a common one, to think that the academic hiring process is a rational one.

All About Teaching Portfolios

In this post I give you some resources for creating a teaching portfolio and a list of  possibly required materials.


A teaching portfolio is a very important part of applying for jobs in philosophy because the majority of graduate students will not go straight into research positions and most will be at teaching colleges the rest of their careers. This being the case it is  really good to have a portfolio to prove one can teach well. 

Introduction to the Philosophical Career

This is the best concise outline of professional philosophy I have seen so far and I highly suggest reading it. It is clear, honest and a quick read. here is a link to the main article and all the sub-points

http://spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/grad.htm

   1.    Why are you writing this FAQ?

       2.    What can I do with a philosophy degree?

       3.    What do philosophy professors do?

       4.    I love learning about philosophy. Will I be a good philosopher?

       5.    Where will I get a job?

       6.    What will I be teaching?

       7.    But I’m really smart, so I’ll be one of the few at the elite schools, right?

       8.    Can I advance in the profession through talent and hard work?

       9.    Will I influence the field through my insightful articles?

       10.  Will I survive in my field?

       11.  How does one advance in philosophy?

       12.  Why the hell would I want to become a philosopher??

Job Market: Evaluation of Search Committee Tactics

By Adam Kotsko

I have been on the job market for three years and have also served on a search committee as a student representative, and I have come to believe that some typical practices are not optimal. The parts that seem to me to be optimal are basically the beginning and the end — a concise cover letter with C.V. is a great way to kick off an application, and the process of an on-campus interview seems well-suited to generate the kind of meaningful information that search committees need at that late phase. Where things seem to me to fall apart is in the middle stages, namely the application materials required and the various kinds of short interviews.

Undergraduate: Graduate School in Philosophy?

This is a very useful page for those who have started thinking about attending graduate school in philosophy from Seattle Pacific University's Department of philosophy.
http://www.spu.edu/depts/philosophy/graduateschool.asp

Visiting Professorships

What does it mean to be a "visiting" assistant professor? Who invented this rather cruel form of professional limbo? Why are more and more junior scholars beginning — and ending — their academic careers as visiting faculty members?


http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/on_the_fence/essay_on_the_flaws_of_becoming_a_visiting_professor

Community College Alums Have An Edge in Hireing

Questioner asks:  "is being an alumni from a [community college] will give me somewhat of an edge in getting a good tenure track position in a few years [at a community college]"
Ansswer: Yes

Getting a Job in Philosophy: A Guide for Graduate Students

By Brian Keeley:  The following is a very drafty document, i.e., it has plenty of holes. Feedback is extremely welcome... from: http://mugwump.pitzer.edu/~bkeeley/WORK/ADVICE.HTM

What is a tenure narrative?

"A tenure narrative (also known as your personal statement) is a statement that describes your career: what you have done in the areas of teaching, research, and service. The statement should be a strong and persuasive case for excellence in teaching and research and make clear your valuable service contributions. It includes an executive summary and/or introduction, and sections on teaching, research, and service, and may include appendices of supporting documents."

See full article: http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2010/11/10/narrative

Book: Publish or Perish

I was sent the following email about the software "Publish or Perish" by the developer after my original posting about the software. Apparently the program has an accompanying book which guides you through the process of using citations as a way to get tenure, promotions, or job offers. I have not read this yet and so far do not endorse it but I thought it might be useful to some readers.

Philosophy Publications and Hiring Practices ( Pedigree?)

This is a questions sent to Lieter. Professionals comment on the state of the profession.

Two questions:
 1: Does philosophy, as a profession, have a route for philosophers to dig themselves out of their professional qualification? That is, if one did not go to a top 10 school, does philosophy, as a profession, have a way for exceptional philosophers to distinguish themselves?
 2. What do we do about this lack?

Job Market: "I Shoulda known Better"

This is a great post over at the philosophy smoker blog. It goes over what the author wishes he had known going into the philosophy as a profession. much of it is vague but some of it is quite interesting. I also recommend reading the insightful comments.

In Defence of Regional Public Universities

An interesting and decently written piece for graduate students. It gives advice on how to get a job at a teaching rather than a research university. With the general state of employment in philosophy, knowing how to tailor your application to a teaching rather than a research university could be a valuable skill.

Academic Job Interviews: Advice

Some of this advice is so common sense it may be easily overlooked. By Alain-Philippe Durand is professor of French and director of the School of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Arizona

 

Badly Rejecting Applicants For Jobs

The following rejection letter for a job was found on http://philosophysmoker.blogspot.com/. I believe that this is a good example of the negligence which can be found in over-supplied markets.

Job Applications: Cover Letters

How to write a cover letter for an academic job. Some basic but insightful suggestions, some specifically about how academia job applications work.