Alison Simmons, assistant professor in philosophy, says undergraduates who are thinking of pursuing academic careers in the humanities should be prepared to face the incredulous stares of their family members.

"You have to face all those relatives who can't figure out what on earth you are doing with your life," she says.

The reason an aspiring professor in the humanities may have difficulty convincing her parents that she doesn't want to be a doctor or a lawyer is that the job market in fields such as philosophy, English and Classics is tight and these disciplines are often viewed as aloof from the rest of society.

Jesse E. Matz, assistant professor of English, says students who want to devote their lives to academia will have to overcome formidable hurdles.

"An academic career demands an enormous amount of work for comparatively little compensation," he says.

Stephen J. Greenblatt, professor of English, says it is an unfortunate fact that earning a Ph.D. in English does not guarantee a position at the University level.

"If someone is good at doing this peculiar job of being a literary scholar, [not to have that talent used] is an unbelievable waste of a lot of time and money and passionate energy and longing and dreams," he says.

Poverty a Possibility

Bryan R. Reynolds, a first-year lecturer in history and literature, says people who want to pursue careers in the humanities should be forewarned that they may not be wealthy.

"Destitution is a possibility," he says. "You really have to love people, teaching, and learning."

Reynolds says he did not take financial security into account when choosing a career.

"That's not very important to me," he says."You must be able to forget about everything elseand follow your passion."

According to a report published by the ModernLanguage Association (MLA), Ph.D. recipients inEnglish and foreign languages between 1990 and1995 found full-time tenure track positions in theyear the degree was awarded.

Those who are not fortunate enough to land atenure-track position, Simmons writes in ane-mail, "often find themselves having to pick upadjunct teaching here and there, which often meansearning, say, $12,000 for teaching four courseswith no benefits and no job security."

Matz says being tenured at a place like Harvardis a very remote possibility.

"Tenure in the English department is--for goodand bad reasons--effectively, if not technically,impossible," he says.