Thread by @shengokai

Of the thirteen applications that I'm submitting, four are in philosophy. Of the four in philosophy, only one asks for Asian Philosophy.

This time last year, I submitted three times the number of philosophy applications.

Welcome to the pandemic job market.

The only reason I have thirteen applications total is because my research interests (and teaching) are broadly interdisciplinary in ways that allow me to apply for positions beyond the field of philosophy and into some adjacent fields, like STS.

Not everyone has that option.

I don't really have any advice here. I do want to say that things are bad out on the market and hopefully recognition of how bad they are will encourage some compassion and some reconsideration of the torturous process of applying to jobs in academia.

I also want to say to grad students who're currently working through their projects and looking at the market that I see you and I commiserate with you, and I wish I could make it better for you. The Ph.D is hard enough without a pandemic and the obliteration of the market.

So, one concrete step I'm taking (dunno if it's good or bad) is to avoid applying for post-doc positions aimed at recent graduates. That stuff is not for me, it's not intended for folks like me, and I don't think it would be appropriate for me to apply for them.

Anyway, the market sucks and I'm here for folks who're expressing despair, rage, anger, or any of the other complicated feelings that come with the literal obliteration of a possible future.