2008 Woodie Awards
Academia Anxiety
Adina Schwartz
Issue date: 5/13/08 Section: Opinion
With my upcoming graduation at the end of May, I find myself reflecting on whether or not Yeshiva University has amply prepared me for the "real" world. My college experience was enjoyable, there's no doubt about that. Student Council, Israel Club, and TAC events, CJF Torah Tours, and the Stern College Drama Society have left me with long-lasting, fond memories. Warm, enthusiastic teachers have engaged me, and my peers, with their thought-provoking and mind-expanding classes. Additionally, my experiences working on The Observer have been more than just positive; they have been life changing. So I will always look back on my years at Stern with nostalgia and may even find myself wiping away a tear. However, as an English Literature major at Stern, I feel in no way ready to embark on the journey into academia that I so desperately wish to take.
There is no one to specifically blame for this. It is not the fault of my English professors who exposed me to the joys of reading, research, and study; they were hired for teaching literature, not for instructing graduate school applicants. It is not necessarily the fault of the staff of Career Advisement either; they always avail themselves to students wanting to improve their personal statements and resumes. Nonetheless, Yeshiva University is culpable for its lack of faculty members who know what graduate schools are looking for. And not just in the area of English Literature. History is another department that is sorely lacking in advisement for those students interested in graduate schools in that subject. I am sure that there are also other majors at Stern and Yeshiva College that have students struggling to go into academia.
Both professors and students often tell me how incredibly competitive academia is. Many people in the United States want to become professors in their favorite subjects and teach comfortably in a university for the rest of their lives. Yet no one has given me any suggestions of how to deal with this competition and attempt to find a job. Pre-med and pre-health students are aware of the requirements necessary for their desired occupations, as well as which jobs and internships will most impress the schools they are applying to. Those students majoring in education learn proper classroom management and have experience actually teaching. Meanwhile, those who want to further their studies in the humanities are forced to sink or swim when it comes to applying to graduate schools and finding a job in academia.
There is no one to specifically blame for this. It is not the fault of my English professors who exposed me to the joys of reading, research, and study; they were hired for teaching literature, not for instructing graduate school applicants. It is not necessarily the fault of the staff of Career Advisement either; they always avail themselves to students wanting to improve their personal statements and resumes. Nonetheless, Yeshiva University is culpable for its lack of faculty members who know what graduate schools are looking for. And not just in the area of English Literature. History is another department that is sorely lacking in advisement for those students interested in graduate schools in that subject. I am sure that there are also other majors at Stern and Yeshiva College that have students struggling to go into academia.
Both professors and students often tell me how incredibly competitive academia is. Many people in the United States want to become professors in their favorite subjects and teach comfortably in a university for the rest of their lives. Yet no one has given me any suggestions of how to deal with this competition and attempt to find a job. Pre-med and pre-health students are aware of the requirements necessary for their desired occupations, as well as which jobs and internships will most impress the schools they are applying to. Those students majoring in education learn proper classroom management and have experience actually teaching. Meanwhile, those who want to further their studies in the humanities are forced to sink or swim when it comes to applying to graduate schools and finding a job in academia.
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