Depressingly Depressed Academic Job Market

This is from the latest Religious Studies News; a report showing the precipitous decline in job offerings over the past three years. Positions registered has gone from 152 in 2007, to 107 in 2008 (just after the economic “Bush Bubble” burst), down to a mere 40 last year – where I chose to dive in to the job market. Or, more honestly, to dip my toes in the tepid icy cold waters of the academic job market.

Earlier this year I wrote about the dismal job field hitting all sectors of academia, A career in academia in the 21st century, or: job, schmob. That post, and this even more dismal news aside, I’m still generally quite optimistic. I’d love to teach at one of those small liberal arts schools on the East coast, and spend some years at a top research institution mentoring the so-called best and brightest (in reality the smart ones who were in the right place at the right time). But with some creativity and flexibility, there are countless opportunities for the academic – most of them simply outside of academia.