28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Concise, Thoughtful, Practical and Pragmatic, February 5, 2010
This review is from: From Student to Scholar: A Candid Guide to Becoming a Professor (Paperback)
Steven Cahn gives a concise, thoughtful, practical and pragmatic description of how one can become a scholar. He explains the major points along the way to acquiring a Ph. D and then toward holding tenure in a university. He works through the following ideas, each chapter being about seven pages a piece:
1. Graduate School
2. The Dissertation
3. Networking
4. The First Interview
5. Dramatis Personae
6. The Second Interview
7. Tenure
8. Teaching
9. Service
10. Research
One can finish this book in probably two hours or less, depending on your reading speed. I finished it in about two hours.
Here are just a few tips, not in any particular order, which he gives that I thought were of help. First, in your road to being a scholar, above all be resilient. Brains are great, but resilience goes further. Second, you may fail a test, but take the test again and finish the degree. Third, when choosing a subject for your dissertation, have two things in mind: what are you passionate about and also finish it in two years. Fourth, when applying for jobs, pursue as many positions that are of any interest. That may mean applying at 50 schools. Fifth, when choosing a professor to study under, choose one that you like, think you will get along with and one that is similar to you. Lastly, when you are in an interview for a position, you will be asked about your dissertation. Have a two minute response prepared to share and don't talk for more than two minutes.
If I could sum up what Cahn says in one sentence, I'd say, "If you are going to become a professor and hold tenure some day, the most important thing you can do is publish your research, continue your research, and be a likeable person."
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a professor some day.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An indispensable guide for future academics., March 8, 2009
This slender volume is a practical treasure trove of information for anyone in graduate school who wants to be a professor. I always feel like I was absent the day the handbook of How To Do This was handed out, and that I am just faking my way through this experience, but THIS Is the handbook I was wishing for all along. It deals with the whole process from the dissertation to job searching to interviews to publishing. It maps out the process and includes priceless advice for not only how to conduct oneself but how to get what you need out of the whole process.
Seriously--if you are headed for a life in academia, I cannot recommend this book enough. It is clearly worded and well written and frankly downright indispensable.
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29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
As a grad student, I feel this book is out of touch, July 16, 2010
This review is from: From Student to Scholar: A Candid Guide to Becoming a Professor (Paperback)
After reading the reviews, I picked up this book and read it in a single sitting. I'm a grad student and was looking for something that would give me practical advice and a little inspiration to keep working hard and perservere. This is not that book. I'm not sure why the other reviews were so positive - After reading this, I doubted whether academia is really a good choice if I would have to endure people like Cahn.
Cahn's words echoed every other thing I keep hearing: research is number one, no one cares about teaching, and service is only somewhat important as long as you're seen doing it around the right people. There's no spirit of collegiality, love of the subject, or respect for students.
The absolute worst part of the book for grad students was the epilogue, which starts, "anyone who offers a book of advice risks leaving the impression of always having had all the answers and never needing any help." This was a very promising first sentence, and I was hoping that Cahn would actually reveal a little humanity. Instead, he goes on at length about how he was the only one in his class to answer a question right on his first day of graduate school and published a paper based on these thoughts. Not exactly a story of resilience, and more like an ego stroke for Kahn, thinly veiled as a tribute to his first professor. Should we admire you because you flew through grad school with ease? I don't... I think you're a little arrogant. What exactly was the purpose of this book again?
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