tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940197.post1750246234949323584..comments2024-03-25T21:14:49.666-04:00Comments on Joel Swagman (Reviews / TESOL): Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Masters or Ph.D. by Robert L. Peters Ph.D.Joel Swagmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14948746083822200906noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940197.post-3280487265471359492009-03-23T09:42:00.000-04:002009-03-23T09:42:00.000-04:00Yes, I think I've seen that book and that post bef...Yes, I think I've seen that book and that post before (probably linked to off of your blog). <BR/><BR/>I've met several grad schol drop outs in Japan. To be fair, they didn't have any horror stories about how they were treated personally, but a lot of them got 2 or 3 years into a degree, and then just realized it wasn't going anywhere and there was no job at the end of the tunnel. <BR/><BR/>I think all of us who are somewhat bookish flirt with the idea of grad school, or literary ambitions, or both. that doesn't mean it's a realistic career path for all of us. But I think it will always be in the back of my mind at least.Joel Swagmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14948746083822200906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5940197.post-39080356124056813782009-03-22T11:41:00.000-04:002009-03-22T11:41:00.000-04:00Books like this one are indispensable, even as the...Books like this one are indispensable, even as they make unusual demands from the reader. I only trifled with the thought of an advanced degree, and realized after watching friends continue that I had neither the temperament or the desire to jump aboard. 15 years later most of them are teaching, but really only one of these friends is gainfully employed (i.e., tenure-tracked) by a university. Every one of them, however, has some incredible stories of just how crappy an up-and-comer can expect to be treated.<BR/><BR/>I did, however, have literary ambitions. <A HREF="http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mikel01/truth.htm" REL="nofollow">This book</A> (<A HREF="http://www.kingsfieldpublications.co.uk/page20.html" REL="nofollow">PDF</A>) and <A HREF="http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/000809.html" REL="nofollow">this post</A> forced me to reassess my expectations, as well as my motivations. I'm probably still reassessing, because once "I'm gonna show everybody in Smallville" was removed from the motivation platter, I started thinking differently about nearly everything. Hard to say if that's good or bad, really. Just as it's difficult to assess beforehand if one should continue the academic process, even if one isn't finally confident of its efficacy.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.com