. . . 3 and 0

Since I mentioned yesterday how many applications I sent out this year--94--I might as well fill you in on the rest of my sad sack story. When I told friends and acquantainces about that number I saw a lot of surprised faces. I guess most people looking for non-academic jobs, or even non-philosphy academic jobs, don't send out that many applications. That number was also what convinced a lot of people that I'd get a job for sure. Again, these were mostly family and friends who didn't understand how the philosophy job market works. "Of course you'll get something. You're applying so widely!"

So. What did 94 applications get me? 3 interviews at the APA--two schools I gave a fuck about and one I didn't. And what did those get? Nothing. No campus interviews. 94 applications didn't get me onto the finalist list for even a single school, let alone get me a job.

And that, more than my patiently repeated explanations in the fall of last year, got people to understand how the job market works.