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Author
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Comment
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(2/21/06 9:20 am)
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Degree in Folklore Studies
Hi all,
As I sit here at my job at a bank I got to wondering. So say one got a masters in Folklore studies. Is there more than an extremely slim chance of getting a job related to this field? What type of jobs are there? Should one also get a degree in something like library sciences?
Just wondering what the likelihood is of making a career out of something I enjoy.
Thank you,
Eleri
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Writerpatrick
Registered User
(2/21/06 9:58 am)
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Re: Degree in Folklore Studies
One does not go to university to get a job. One goes to college.
You need to use your knowledge and find a way to apply it. There are the obvious outlets of teaching and writing, but with so many taking those paths, they are extremely competitive.
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(2/21/06 2:09 pm)
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Re: Degree in Folklore Studies
I am not being entirely coherent in expressing myself today, so I apologize for that. I am not having a completely coherent type of day. I would enjoy studying folklore studies at a masters level; I really enjoy studying in a college environmemnt - but am extremely apprehensive about taking on the debt I know would be required to do so and am wondering if afterwards I would most likely end up working at a bank again.
Maybe instead I should ask for people who have degrees in folklore or similar area what do you do as a profession?
So the should I go back to college or not debate rages on.
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catja1
Registered User
(2/21/06 3:04 pm)
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Re: Degree in Folklore Studies
If you go to a folklore program run through an English department, you'll very likely get a TA position with tuition waiver. It isn't a huge amount of money, but it's something. Ohio State is very good for this.
Also, if you want to work as a folklorist, you'll almost certainly need a PhD. An MA is great for personal satisfaction, and it also shows (non-academic) employers that you have ambition and focus. but as for folklore jobs, there are lots of PhDs around, and very few jobs, so someone with an MA, unless they have REALLY heavy-duty field experience, is not going to be at the top of the list.
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(2/21/06 3:32 pm)
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Re: misc
At least in the US, it's much harder to get a TA position with a tuition waiver if you're doing only an MA--most of those go to PhD students. Individual programs very, though.
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Erica Carlson
Registered User
(2/21/06 6:16 pm)
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Re: misc
Regarding the library studies part of your original post, I wouldn't get a degree in library science unless you want to be a librarian - or unless you are really interested in how information is organized and accessed and are willing to spend 1-2 years learning about that.
Librarianship is certainly a field where you could use a folklore studies degree, and academic librarianship is a place where second Masters degrees are often welcome. However, if you go the librarian route, there's no guarantee that you'll end up using your folklore studies background in your job, at least formally.
If you are interested in becoming a librarian, you might want to check out this page from the ALA website, where there's info on library careers:
www.ala.org/ala/hrdr/careersinlibraries/careerslibraries.htm
And here's a link to a list of library programs. You will find a few that offer dual degree programs if you're interested in killing two birds with one stone:
www.ala.org/ala/accreditation/lisdirb/Alphaaccred.htm
Best of luck to you,
Erica
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(2/24/06 7:27 am)
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Re: misc
Thank you all for your advice. You definitly gave me some more points of view to think about!
Eleri
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Northerner4me
Registered User
(2/27/06 6:29 pm)
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Re: misc
I wouldn't advice a librarianship qualification unless you specifically want to be a librarian - I have found from personal experience that the qualifications are not very transferable.
Why not consider some applications of folklore? Such as being a storyteller, for instance? There are some universities in the States that run Master's in storytelling - and there's opportunities to work after you qualify.
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(2/28/06 9:43 am)
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Re: misc
There are universities that offer masters in storytelling?!???!!
Off to google!
Thanks,
Eleri
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Northerner4me
Registered User
(3/1/06 12:29 pm)
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Re: misc
Try this link!
www.etsu.edu/stories/
Plenty of other American universities offer storytelling courses as part of a degree program. We have nothing like this over here in the UK - *sound of teeth being well and truly gnashed*. I'm hoping to be a professional storyteller myself but am having to learn the hard way by going on short workshops and going to festivals and events to see professional storytellers to learn from them. Today I was at a business meeting to find out about business plans, cash flow etc. I'm not yet at the start-up stage but have reached the stage where I will be contacting a school very shortly to ask for volunteer work telling stories to children (have draftyed my letter and have references). Once I have experience as an amateur - then the stage after that is start-up!!!
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Elizabeth Leigh
Registered User
(3/2/06 8:13 pm)
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Re: misc
Elerijilly,
Are you planning on dying someday?
If so, you might consider pursuing something that you really love. Worst case scenario: you wind up back at the bank having had a lovely time studying what you enjoy. Remember, they can repossess your car and they can repossess your house, but they can never repossess your education.
Lest you think I'm an ivory-tower person, let me share with you that I'm a single mother of three who finally had the sense to pursue what she loved -- and neither my children nor I have starved for it.
Follow your bliss. (And yes -- master's students can certainly get TAships. I lived on such a stipend -- albeit simply.)
Use your head, but use your heart, also. And best wishes.
Elizabeth
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Van45us
Registered User
(3/3/06 12:36 pm)
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Re: misc
That's great that you were able to make money doing what you love. Unfortunately, you are a statistical rarity. Working class folk, especially those with kids, have to think about employment first (with an emphasis on benefits and pension) and bliss later. Of course this shouldn't stop you from writing or being an artist or musician or whatever in the gaps between. When you get to the point where you can actually earn money from it you can think about quitting your day job. I know too many people (especially here in L.A.) who want to be anything but their job description. If they are dogged and especially lucky, they may eventually accomplish their goal. It happens, but you have to be realistic and think about security for the future.
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Northerner4me
Registered User
(3/4/06 10:20 am)
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Re: misc
Some of us don't have a day job to quit!! I had to give up my early career as a librarian owing to a patch of illness and haven't been able to return to it. A determined effort to retrain has also failed after returning to uni and gaining a Master's in Computing. Now my only options are a straight choice between low-paid unskilled work and the gamble of setting up doing something that I love.
Certainly ElleriJilly should think extremely seriously before giving up a day job.
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(3/8/06 10:05 am)
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Re: misc
It's always a hard choice. Luckily, I don't have any children so no one but myself to worry about - but I do have some health problems so a little expendable income and good health insurance are nice benefits to the day job.
However, I think I am at the follow my bliss stage - or perhaps it's just rewatching Joseph Campbell / Bill Moyers interview this weekend.
I've started scoping schools and studying for the math portion of my GRE (I figure this will take awhile since I don't remember any math outside the basics - I think I intentionally repressed it). I am going to see if I can get my health in as good as shape as possible over the next few months and go from there.
Thanks again for all the input,
Eleri
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catja1
Registered User
(3/8/06 2:22 pm)
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Re: misc
Re the GRE: if you're applying in the humanities, most schools don't even LOOK at your math scores. What matters is the verbal and possibly the literature subject test, which depends on your program (if you're studying folklore through an English program, they probably will require the subject test). Don't angst about the math, seriously, unless some school specifically says it wants good math scores. Most places will only say something like "minimum 600 verbal."
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EleriJilly
Registered User
(3/9/06 2:51 pm)
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Re: misc
I think (at the moment) I will go through anthropology so I believe they will look at my math scores as well (the universities' websites I've been looking at don't seem to specify, but you have to be able to figure out how other cultures' economies function after all, at least in theory) with a focus in folklore studies. Bring on the Trobriander shell exchange system!!! (flashback from undergraduate days)
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mmcphie
Unregistered User
(4/5/06 8:35 pm)
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storytelling
The only place I know that offers an MA in storytelling is East Tennessee State University. Of course, there are many more with folklore programs. And as a storyteller, I can tell you that you can, indeed, make a living telling stories, although I don't know too many full-time storytellers who are getting rich! Still, it's wonderful work.
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searsmith
Registered User
(4/7/06 11:26 am)
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Indiana
University Folklore Institute
Indiana University's Folklore Institute has been the top ranked program in the US for some time. When I toured there in the early 1990s, I was impressed by the range and quality of courses, the faculty, and the atmosphere, which was supportive and communal. The library's fantastic, too.
Although I decided to go a more intensive literary route myself, I recommend the program, which does have a more anthropological bent than you'd get in an English or History Department (its otherwise interdisciplinary).
Going to a top-ranked program increases your chances of employment, of course. And, I agree with others who've given advice. If you expect to work in the field, commit now to earning a Ph.D. If you follow your bliss, you might as well go all the way to rainbow's end.
Here's the link: www.indiana.edu/~folklore...titute.htm
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kristiw
Unregistered User
(4/7/06 2:34 pm)
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Indiana
I'm starting my doctoral degree at Indiana this fall :)
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searsmith
Registered User
(4/7/06 5:40 pm)
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Congrats
Good for you! I think you've made a great choice -- and I've no doubt they have, too. It's a selective program.
Kelly
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kristiw
Unregistered User
(4/7/06 7:10 pm)
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Indiana
Thanks-- sorry about the embarassing double post.
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