The Waiting Game

Two weeks ago I finished, and received adviser approval on, my dissertation. This covers everything from the intro to the conclusion. It's a great feeling. However, I've got two other readers who are making comments and changes. My third reader has been a superstar and turned around my material in no time. She's provided useful and thought-provoking comments, most of which she recommends addressing after I submit my diss and in process of converting the diss to a manuscript. My second reader is an incredibly busy woman whose had an incredibly busy summer. I respect her time and am thankful that she's gone out of her way to read my chapters... but the (job market/baby) clock is ticking. At first, she expected to get me comments by early September. Then they were supposed to come Monday. It's now Wednesday, the 12th. It's unclear whether they'll be coming in electronic or hard copy form - if the latter then they should be here by the end of the week. But job market deadlines, for which my letter writers have to be able to say my final version is submitted, are looming. The first one is Oct 15. If this reader had a reputation for giving minor changes, editorial comments, and a few simple things - no problem. Of course, she actually has a reputation for writing things like "NO!!!" (all bold, all caps, multiple exclamation marks, in red ink) across people's drafts, and sending grad students to cry unquenchable streams of tears into their overpriced pints at Joe's. That being said, she also has a reputation for making some of the best and most necessary comments on student work. Her input often turns good work into excellent work. I'm less concerned about how her comments will make me feel - I'm more concerned about the amount of time it may well take to address her comments.

In the meantime I'm preparing job applications. It's easier than last year because I have a better sense of how I need to present myself and my work (all good). But it's still a boring PITA. For those beginning to keep score, there haven't been any jobs posted west of MN in my field. Considering our 2-body academic family I'm being pretty picky about what I apply for - meaning areas with reasonable work options for L. So far all of the jobs I'm looking at are in New England or mid-Atlantic regions.

So now I wait. Which means I spend a lot of time refreshing job boards and procrastinating while waiting to see if 1) comments arrive via post or email, or 2) more jobs post. I guess this exercise in patience will prove useful in November, but I'm also very aware that I'm running out of time to get done what I need to in order to be a viable candidate on this year's market.