[Ms. Stewart is a doctoral student deep in the Classics trenches at The Ohio State University, a former Lukeion student and traveler, and an esteemed Lukeion grader in advanced Latin]
Dear Future Classicists:
Help! Just kidding; Classics is an amazing major or minor for undergraduate studies. Just think long and hard before you do grad school.I am having a rewarding if challenging time, but my advice to you is: have a plan. Classics is a great major if you’re planning on going to medical or legal school afterward. It is a great minor if you’re doing anything else. Before you consider graduate school, know that it is a long grueling process during which, you will make little money. After graduate school, the market is quite slim for jobs at colleges and universities. It is better at highschools and online programs like the Lukeion Project; just know that is what you’re getting yourself in for. You may end up changing your mind later, but make the most well thought out and researched plan that you can.
To supplement your planning process in Classics or anything else, you need mentoring, and more mentoring, and all the mentoring. Talk to students who are a few years ahead of you and younger teachers and professors. Their memories will be fresher, and their more recent experiences will be more relevant. Older professors are great to chat with, but they probably won’t be up to date on the nitty-gritty details of what you need to do in your career to provide much help for you. There is no step by step youtube video or syllabus for how to go from being a high school student to a tenured professor. You just have to figure it out, and the only tool you have is talking to people who are doing or have recently done it.
Speaking of nitty-gritty details, you will need research, references, teaching experience, travel experience, money, test scores, and 45-50 hours a week of difficult mental work.
You need research experience on your resume because one of the major features of academic work is research. Even if you are planning to teach high school but you are going to graduate school, you will need to do research before and during the process. You will need to learn to write well. To do this, find a mentor, or take one of the Lukeion’s classes on writing. Also, don’t tell anyone you just want to be a highschool teacher unless you are going to a program that specializes in that; it’s not as prestigious and people won’t take you as seriously.
You will need to study for and take the GRE and obtain at least whatever the minimum score is at the university you are applying to for acceptance. You start studying for this test several months beforehand and leave yourself enough time to take the test a second time if necessary before applications are due. There are courses you can pay for, but I’d recommend buying a reliable prep book and working through that. Also, taking the GRE costs money, so be prepared.
You will need teaching experience. TA, substitute, grader, tutor. Ask around at your university and local colleges, high schools, and job boards. Get whatever you can and take on and as much as you can reasonably manage. The other half of your job as a professor is teaching. Schools and employers will want to see you can do this.
You will need references. If you have been getting mentoring from a few professors, you should be good to go. People like people who ask them for advice. Don’t be sycophantic, but if you’ve been consistently asking for advice, they will like you more for the attention, and because you seem to be making an effort. Ask them to write references for you many months before the deadline. Give them as much information about yourself, the school or job, and the application as you can. Do not make them do an ounce of effort that you could have done for them.
If you can, get some travel experience. It is the most enjoyable thing on this list and adds a couple bonus points to your resume. It shows that you are passionate enough about Classics to spend lots of money to go look at it. There are plenty of programs that offer scholarship money for travel. You can also do a Lukeion trip-which I would recommend. I don’t love to study abroad because I don’t really want to have homework and sit in a classroom. I preferred my Lukeion trip because it was educational but focused on the hands-on experience.
You will need money. Unless you are planning on medical school afterward, you can’t afford to go into debt for a classics education. Make as much money as you can over the summer, apply for scholarships, and only apply to graduate programs that offer stipends. You won’t make a ton of money in this career, but you can be comfortable and at least not go into major debt. Learn how to budget, cook at home, and if possible, get married! I’m kind of joking about marriage, but it helps if you can split the bills and your roommate is not a stranger.
Graduate school is demanding. I work 45-50 hours a week and I have peers who do more like 60. You have to be disciplined because there is no time clock or supervisor to make sure you are keeping up. It is all on you. You have to spend a lot of time sitting at desks in freezing libraries memorizing rare verb forms and fragmentary poets that you don’t care about. You do get to spend time on things that you are interested in, but not all of them. Be mentally prepared.
Perfectionists will struggle. Classical studies encompass more information than one person could possibly learn in a lifetime, so there will always be more you need to learn. Even in the particular field you choose to specialize in, you will never be finished, and there will always be holes in your memory that you have to go back and fill in.
If you are doing Classics, do your research so you are aware of what you are signing up for. Then make the best plan that you can. Good luck!
hello, im a student at the lukion project and I dont know what type of career I want to pursue,
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I was wondering what was required for someone who wanted to work in a mueseum (like a curator) or for someone who wanted to be out in the field doing archeology.
im very good at doing reaserch and im a pretty good writer for a highschooler.
All of the fields you have suggested will require both an undergraduate and a graduate degree. Typically, those who want to pursue a degree in archaeology or museum studies will specialize, to a certain degree, from the beginning. For example, earning a degree in Classics as an undergraduate would allow you to focus and specialize in Greek and Roman archaeology or museum studies in graduate school. If you are more broadly interested in the idea of archaeology or work in a museum, you might do better to choose an undergraduate degree in anthropology and then choose a focus in graduate school. Either way, expect a minimum of 6-8 years (+) of education at the college and graduate level for these fields. For now, focus on language studies and gain travel experience in the areas that most interest you. Also, if you are interested in being an archaeologist, volunteer NOW for field work. Most people are not well-suited for excavations (it is hot gritty buggy work). It is always best to discover this about yourself before investing in a degree in archaeology.
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