career path for higher ed jobs

[kbryson]

Hi everyone,

Previously I've posted questions to this board about the degree acquisition process and funding. The advice of from users in the past has been helpful, and I am now nearing the end of a fully funded DMA. Surveying the job market, the landscape looks quite bleak. When I started this journey it seemed the DMA would be enough to gain consideration for an entry level position as lecturer or assistant professor. The first few job postings I've seen for these "entry level" positions are now stipulating that 5 years of direct experience teaching at a college are a requirement.

A quick internet search reveals that its actually quite common for a lot of jobs to list "5+ years of experience" for entry level positions. The conventional wisdom outside of academia is to ignore it and apply for the job anyway. I suspect this might not hold true in the same way for aspiring university professors. It is entirely possible that the requirements for full time work have shifted in the time since I started my DMA, but that begs the question, where are people in this career track supposed to get the required experience if the "entry level" jobs are no longer entry level.

[Burgerbob]

Most of the people I know locally start at the community college level, youth orchestra programs, high school coaching, etc. Even the smaller 4-year programs require a lot for entry, as you've noted.

[JLivi]

I'm based around Chicago. There are some folks with doctorates and others without them. I think building a network plays a role in getting these positions too. Most of the people I know personally that teach at DePaul, Loyola, UIC don't have their DMAs, but definitely have a masters. The ones I know are adjunct.

To be fair though, I don't know exactly what type of job you're going for.

[kbryson]

To be fair though, I don't know exactly what type of job you're going for.

I'm looking for a full-time job in a jazz faculty position. Directing ensembles, teaching improvisation, jazz theory, composition/arranging, and music technology are the areas I have training and expertise in.

[Wilktone]

Full disclosure, I haven't been a full-time academic for over 10 years, so my experiences are likely different from what's current. That said, I've continued to teach at the college level as an adjunct and have many friends and colleagues that are full-time in academia.

I think you are correct that the job market in academia is more difficult than it was in the past. I understand that current projections also indicate that many smaller schools are going to struggle to fill enrollment and many are expected to close in the not too distant future. I remember that when I was an undergrad considering going the academic route and getting my grad degrees to teach college it was projected that there would be a shortage of professors as boomers retired. That hasn't really happened. Higher education's priorities have shifted and the current economic, political, and social climate has changed as well, affecting how colleges and universities run.

Back when I was looking for a job in higher education the College Music Society and Chronicle of Higher Education were both very good sources for job postings. Join the CMS, if you haven't already, and at least keep an eye on the CHE postings. I'm no longer a member of the CMS, but the CHE postings are made available for free. Looking right now, I only see one posting for a full time tenure track job in brass and that's for a horn teacher.

If you're interested in teaching at a college or university full time you almost always need to have a doctorate complete at this point. There are so many qualified applicants for so few jobs that the search committees need easy ways to weed out candidates and having a doctorate completed is one way they can easily do so. Almost any teacher in higher education that hasn't completed a doctorate is adjunct and these days many adjuncts have doctorates completed too. Schools have discovered that instead of hiring one full-time assistant professor on the tenure track they can hire 1-3 adjuncts for less and cover the same teaching load.

Teaching experience is also another way search committees can winnow out some applicants easily. There are plenty of academics who have been cobbling together a living teaching at 2 or 3 different schools as an adjunct for a few years. I don't know the scene near you, kbryson, but look for adjunct teaching opportunities while you finish up your DMA. For my doctorate (DA from Ball State University) I was required to teach an internship at BSU and also an externship for a semester somewhere else. I was able to secure my externship at a small private school nearby which led to an adjunct position while I finished up my dissertation.

Even if you don't have all the listed experience it's not a bad idea to apply for positions that fit your skill set. But getting your foot in the door is likely going to require that you be flexible in what you are able to teach. In my first full-time teaching position I was hired to teach brass and jazz, so I covered all the private brass lessons. I also taught Music Appreciation. After I left that job and was hired as Jazz Studies Director I ended up also teaching History of Rock 'n' Roll, World Music, and a freshman colloquium class that was sort of a music appreciation class. I also ended up conducting the Concert Band for a year, coordinating the Applied Music class (private lessons). As an adjunct I've taught jazz and brass classes, but also music theory, music appreciation, and even the first semester of class piano.

Much like being a professional performer, flexibility will help you find more work. It's sort of the opposite of getting a doctorate, which gives you a very narrow focus. Ironic that the required degree in some ways works against your chance to get experiences that make you more versatile. The fact that you've got some Music Technology background is good. See about finding other areas where you could cover different music classes (Music Theory, Music History, Aural Skills, Brass Methods, etc.). Maybe you could coach a brass quintet or cover an aural skills class. Small departments usually require the faculty to teach outside of their general area of expertise. Being able to cover a larger class that includes non-majors is also attractive to many schools (i.e., concert band, marching band, music appreciation, etc.).

Lastly, be ready to move to where the job is. You're not likely to get much choice in where you live. Many schools are located somewhat out of the way from larger cities where you would find opportunities to perform outside of your teaching duties. Be prepared to live in a rural area.

As I said, I've been out of the profession for a while, so you can take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Good luck!

Dave

[kbryson]

As I said, I've been out of the profession for a while, so you can take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Good luck!

Dave

Dave,

Many thanks for writing such a thorough and involved response, I think you are actually quite accurate about a few things. I think you are indeed correct that many departments are using both doctoral status and prior teaching experience as ways of cutting down the number of applicants quickly. I see questions about these things on many job application forms as a "toggle" switch... meaning you just select yes/no if you have the desired experience. My guess is your documents don't even get a glance if you end up checking the "no" box. Its too bad because I feel like at this point I've crafted a pretty competitive resume; I'm just missing the bit of university level teaching everyone is gate keeping for. Anyways, thanks once again for taking your time to respond. Let me know if you ever come through SE Florida, I think I owe you a cubano and cafecito for your efforts on this thread!