What do graduate students in the humanities do for summer jobs?

January 14, 2009 10:46 AM

What do graduate students in the humanities do for summer jobs? I am a first year grad student in a philosophy program in the New York SUNY school system. I'm trying to start looking for summer jobs but I'm not really sure what I should be looking for as a grad student in the humanities.

I've asked other students in the program, and it looks like there are minimal research opportunities in my program. I don't really care about doing something within my field, as I know that this would probably be nearly impossible at my level of education, but I would like to do something that's a step above minimum wage, entry level summer job status. I have office experience, extensive computer experience, both with administrative tasks and graphic design (my BS was in graphic arts, essentially), and I'm a quick learner. Where should I be looking? I would really prefer to work in a job where I could help people, learn about economics, or work for the government in some peaceful, i.e. not military, capacity. Thanks in advance for any help!

posted by coolguy#1 to work & money (12 comments total)

I occasionally will hire a student (grad or under) for a summer project here at my academic library.

Check with your school's library to see if they have any openings. Many can scale your hours down or up as the semester progresses, so you can have a bit of income all year round.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:21 AM on January 14

Most graduate students (English) I know look for summer fellowships/programs/adjunct teaching or do grunt work like wait tables or work at summer camps.

Sorry.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:25 AM on January 14

2nding PhoBWankenobi

When I was on summer break in the humanities field, I delivered pizzas. Made some good dough at it too (pun intended)
posted by arniec at 11:30 AM on January 14

I temped after my first year, but I suspect there aren't going to be a lot of temp jobs this summer. You can sometimes get decently-paying jobs at summer programs for high school students, but that means working with high school students.

I think your best bet would probably be to try to scare up some freelance graphic design work. That's really the only skill you have that sets you apart from the other tens of thousands of other students who are going to be looking for summer jobs at the same time as you. I don't know how to do that, but maybe someone else here will have some ideas.
posted by craichead at 11:32 AM on January 14

If you can find student work through your school, it'll almost certainly be better than what you'd get anywhere else: your professors know you, they can safely assume you're competent and you want to do a good job, and they're used to people learning on-the-job — it's what students do — so they're unlikely to get hung up on experience or credentials. See if anyone in your department or a related one needs an extra RA for the summer, or has a side project you could work on.

F'rinstance, I spent last summer writing a manual for a bit of software that one of my profs wrote. I'd never have gotten that sort of job as a freelance writer out in the real world — I've got no tech writing experience or credentials — but she'd had me in her classes, knew I could write okay, and had a grant that required her to hire a student for the job, so there I was.

You mention design and computer experience. Maybe ask around and see if there's a lab/department/project that's putting together a website, or needs an extra hand writing code or crunching numbers?
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:56 AM on January 14

I think anything involving exposure to a foreign language would be a good idea. For a (Western) philosopher, French and German would be the obvious candidates.
posted by mattn at 12:01 PM on January 14

As someone who has a BA in English Lit and an MFA in film, here is the advice I wish I'd taken myself. Get a "real" summer job.

I don't mean that you should sell out or change your career path. But get a bit of experience in the corporate work world, so that if you have to dip into it again later when the stakes are higher and you have bigger bills to pay, you won't feel as unmoored as you do now.

In a word: temp. I'm sure you can type, use basic office software, speak articulately, and understand instructions. You probably even have a suit or jacket (you know, for conferences). The fact that you actually have no ambition to get hired on permanently in such a situation could actually work in your favor, especially in this economy, etc.
posted by bingo at 12:15 PM on January 14

Seconding nebulawindphone's recommendation of looking through your school first. This past summer, as a grad student in info. and library science with an art history background, I was a little bit freaked out about my chances of finding summer employment. After a couple of afternoons searching my university's student job site and sending out applications, I found myself in possession of some great job prospects--not just for the summer, but also for a paid assistantship in another department for the next academic year. So I would definitely pursue your school's internal student positions first.
posted by sarabeth at 12:18 PM on January 14

I was never organised enough to do anything but wait tables, but I work in government now and we have paid summer internships and temp workers. They end up doing dogsbody work (bless their cotton socks!) but the line still looks great on their CVs.
posted by Lucie at 12:57 PM on January 14

Look for a summer job or internship doing graphic design for a government agency or non-profit that interests you. Graphic design and marketing are things that lots of interesting, small quasi-governmental or non-profit organizations really need help with. In my experience, its a great way to get yourself into an organization you are interested in anyway, and they will often be interested if you can afford to work for less than a contract designer would.
posted by mjcon at 4:11 PM on January 14

I freelanced features for middle-school textbooks on such topics as flowers that smell terrible, and tiny guide ponies for the blind. I got the job after working as a freelance fact-checker for them. The great thing about it was that it was paid by the article, or by the fact checked. That way, if I got on a roll and went fairly swiftly, I could make lots more per hour (up to $50!).
posted by umbú at 6:08 PM on January 14

T to the A, homes.
posted by Beardman at 9:03 PM on January 14