User blog comment:Pvg3/Am I the only spouse who is about to have a breakdown if her husband doesn't get a job?/@comment-195.37.16.152-20131121223849

Look further afield geographically. The EU and UK have post-doc positions constantly flooding through, and there are a lot of funding opportunities in Germany in particular. You don't have to speak German, they are very open about English-language scholarship and teaching. For people with initiative and creative spirit, you can take your work to funding bodies, and look for independent funding, from the ERC, SSRC, DFG, VW and others. If you have funding, most institutions will be glad to take you.

Having said that, it's not wise to count on a current grad student to one day be the supporter of the family - academic salaries are not great, and you'll likely need 2 incomes even if he gets a TT job, unless it's a really good one.

Also, be pragmatic. If things continue not to work out, then discuss a breaking point when you begin to think about other options, and what those options might be. There should always be plan B, or C or D. This can be anything from professionalising a once-distracting hobby to editorial or museum work, or depending on the discipline, government policy work, NGO, UN, Digital Humanities. Depends on the discipline, his interests and skills. Don't be over-focussed on the TT as a single application for the knowledge skills.

Yes, keep publishing, don't expect everything to work out immediately. I have a friend who's been teaching at high school the last few years and just got a post-doc at my institution. Wittgenstein taught at primary school in a village until Bertrand Russel recognised his work, had it published and brought him to Cambridge.