Finding a Fit: The Rhet/Comp Job Search, 2014-2015 CCCC 2016 Carrie Leverenz, TCU c.leverenz@tcu.edu http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe/storage/Data-Management/Easy_Tier_SSDs/

Percent of Doctorate Recipients With Job or Postdoc Commitments, by Field of Study “The proportion of doctorate recipients with definite commitments for employment or postdoc study declined in 2014 for the fifth time in the past 6 years in every broad non-S&E field of study. The share of doctorate recipients with definite commitments reached 20-year low points in each of these non-S&E fields.”

“The highest number ever recorded by the SED” Number of Doctorate Recipients in the U.S. by Field of Study “The highest number ever recorded by the SED” SOURCE: NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2014 http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsf16300/digest/nsf16300.pdf

“The decreases of the past three years bring Report on the MLA Job Information List, 2014-2015 “The decreases of the past three years bring the number of advertised jobs to a new low.”

“The downturn in the number of ads since 2008 has been accompanied by a consistently lower percentage of each year’s total tagged as tenure track.”

Tenure status of ads by English subdiscipline

Total composition ads = 295 Total tenure track composition = 187 2013-2014 Total job ads = 928 Total composition ads = 295 Total tenure track composition = 187 30.3% of tenure track jobs were in composition 63.4% of jobs in composition were tenure track   Report on the MLA Job Information List, 2013-2014 2014-2015 Total job ads = 884 Total composition ads = 297 Total tenure track composition = 188 31.6 % of tenure track jobs were in composition 63.3% of jobs in composition were tenure track Report on the MLA Job Information List, 2014-2015

Number of JIL ads requiring a PhD in Rhet/Comp 2014-2015

Of the 161 tenure track positions Assistant 120 Assistant/Associate 23 Associate or Full 9 Open rank 9

Frequently mentioned specializations: 1) Administration 75 of 161 tt 44 of 120 tt assistant 16 of 45 non-tt renewable About 30 % of positions for new Rhet/Comp PhDs (60 of 188)

Other frequently mentioned specializations: New media (58 of 161 tt ads) Tech/prof writing (51 of 161 tt ads)

Q4 Within the field of Rhetoric and Composition, which one category below best describes the focus of your dissertation?

Words too frequent to fit: writing (145) administration (52) rhetoric (33) Writing (31) and/or (20) theory (19)

83.72% (72 of 86 respondents) were on the job market for the first time 22.37% (17 of 76) were in their 4th year 43.42% (33 of 76) were in their 5th year 7.11% (13 of 76) were in their 6th year 7.11% (13 of 76) were in their 7th year  

Q1 Please select the statement below that best describes your PhD progress

Q15 How many academic jobs did you apply for?

Q18 How many preliminary interviews (not on-campus) for academic jobs did you do (phone, MLA, video conference, CCCCs, etc.)?

Q24 Have you accepted a position for fulltime employment in a college or university?

Q25 How would you describe the institutional status of the position you’ve accepted?

How well does the job fit? http://www.executivestyle.com.au/height-matters-for-men-when-finding-the-perfect-fit-gnodix

Q32 If you have secured full-time employment, how satisfied are you with the job you’ve accepted?

Q41 What has been your biggest surprise regarding the job search? Answered: 70 Skipped: 19 Emotionally and psychologically painful (11) Time consuming/difficult (10) The job search was better than expected (10) Poor treatment/unfair or illogical process (9) Jobs available were not a good fit (9) Nature of the jobs themselves (7) Not enough jobs/lack of success (6) Inconsistent deadlines/timing (4) No surprises (4)

Q42 What one thing do you wish you would have done differently in preparation for the job search? Answered: 69 Skipped: 20 Prepared for the job search differently (11) Prepared for the job search earlier (10) Nothing (10) Submitted fewer applications (8) Published more (6) Different training (6) Written more of my dissertation (5) Improved my well being (5) Changed career path (4) Submitted more applications(3)

Q45 If you could offer one piece of advice to current graduate students what would it be? Gain varied experience/diversify (18) Start early/ Time management (10) Be realistic/consider alternatives (11) Publish (9) Make your work meaningful outside your institution/network (7) Access support/ self-care (4) Be yourself/figure out what you want (4) Finish your dissertation (3)

Q44 If you could offer one piece of advice to your graduate program what would it be? Answered: 70 Skipped: 19 More practical training (17) Start preparing grad students for the job search early (14) Support for alternative career choices/personal support (12) Offer more/different Rhet/Comp courses (9) Help grad students publish/support for scholarship (7) My program did a good job (6) Expand funding (2) Encourage a wide search (1) Reduce admissions (1)

http://leadershiparchways.com/2015/01/13/finding-the-perfect-job-person-job-fit/

Look on the bright side. There is a bright side. Support multiple models of career success. Be a specialist in writing, all kinds of writing Find opportunities for writing program leadership. Be flexible in response to trends.