It doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy, though…

I sympathize, Les, I really do.  I’m going to be finishing up my degree in English sometime next semester, and hope to be getting a “real” job sometime soon after that.  Unfortunately, it appears that a PhD no longer means what it used to. . . most schools are using a LOT of adjunct teachers in their humanities departments, and adjuncts usually make about 12K a year.  Obviously, I won’t be paying of my 60K$ student loans, or buying a house on that salary.  Apparently “adjunct” is actually a synonym for “slave.” Everytime I see the lack of tenure track jobs, I kick myself and mumble “should’a gone into computers.” Then I see how many people have been losing their jobs in the tech sector, and I mumble “should’a made sure I was born rich.”

It’s the promise of America-- bust your ass, do all the right things, and if you get lucky on top of it, you just might be able to survive.

Damn it nowiser, I’m in nearly the exact same boat you are, but several years back - I’ve jumped around schools for a while, and only have 2 years worth of credits under the belt in nothing paticular (except for a minimal smathering of CS stuff). I realize I can’t expect to get a job in the private or corporate sector in anything computer related, now. Nothing that would pay, at least.

I’m thinking of trying to get a security clearance and join up with a federal agency (after I get a degree or two, and maybe a masters/PhD, if time permits), or possibly get a teaching degree - after all, education is one of the few things that is promised to always need workers, even if it doesn’t pay well all the time.

Plus, teacher + school network admin might rake in a bit more money, and I’d have to deal with brats less.

Actually, Caimlas, I�m feeling a little more optimistic these days, as the Journal of Higher Education just posted about 160 job openings for English instructors.  Granted, quite a few of these are not realistic openings for me, as they want specialists in developmental English, or Tesol, or English Education specialists; but there are some openings for generalists, as well�people who can teach comp or lit or even gen ed history classes if necessary.  And these are actually jobs that I�m technically qualified for right now, even without finishing my diss.  So I�m not feeling as bleak as I was�apparently, all the job postings come out about once a year, and there�s a mad scramble to get out application packages and CVs.  The rest of the year, colleges really are pretty much restricting hiring to an adjunct basis, or just putting off hiring until the fall semester of the next year.

That being said, if you don�t think you�d object to the work too much, public schools are always hiring teachers, the pay is decent, considering that you�re working about 9 mos a year, and you can pretty much live where you want.  Maybe not right down to the town, street and house you would prefer, but you can pretty much pick your favorite metropolitan area, and you can certainly be picky about the state you want to live in.  (Maricopa county, AZ has just ridiculous housing prices right now, and they�ve got a teacher shortage on top of it.  Yeah, it�s a desert, �but it�s a dry heat.�)

Also, if you go through a credentialing program at a college you can get a lot of advice and help.  It�s possible, if you already have your degree, to go through the testing/student teaching/credentialing process without actually being enrolled at the college anymore, but you get a lot less guidance.  Trust me, if you�re trying to get credentialed in CA you�re going to need the guidance, as it is an absolute forest of bureaucracy.  Your ultimate goal should be to get a clear, single subject credential, so that you�re not working as the �home room� teacher; home room teachers deal extensively with parents, and parents don�t always have their brains turned on when they come to conferences.  (I think some of them are still angry with the teachers they had as kids, and want to take it out on their kids� teachers).

Finally, keep a stiff upper lip, even if the going looks bleak�and remember, you forget how horrible the job-hunting process was once you collect your first fat paycheck.  If your 1st love is computer science, get your degree in that, and teach CS to High school kids.  The job market is cyclical, like everything else, and by the time you get your degree (in whatever you�re interested in) teaching HS may not be your only option anymore.

I wish you luck.