If you are reading this, you are likely a graduate student in the field wondering whether to stay. Or perhaps you are a faculty member, worrying about the ethics of advising PhD students in a non-STEM field. Your students may be peppering you with questions such as: How will I pass my qualifying exams? Do I really have to take German? How do I find a topic for my seminar paper? Will I ever get a talk accepted to CAA? Ever?
For the students reading this, there is one question that trumps all the others: Will there be a job when I finish? You’re wondering whether you’ve made a terrible mistake. At this point, your family and even some of your friends are asking what it is you do exactly, and when will you be done. They will envy your summers “off.” Many people you encounter will not have heard of the field of art history, which tends to be offered these days only in the wealthy suburban and private secondary schools. To be polite, some will ask you what you like to paint.
To read the full article, please visit http://rar.rutgers.edu/current-volume/volume-32/sidlauskas_on-graduate-education/
