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^Well teaching isn's bad, is it? It sure beats being on an entry level back office admin job.
Actually I can list several benefits of academia over corporations:
- Most people are of a more liberal leaning than the general population and the people at corporations, hence why ethnic origin isn't such an issue
- Intellectualism isn't frowned upon as in corporations. In fact asking questions is encouraged
- More vacation time
- In Western and Northern Europe it pays more than clerical jobs. Note: This is not the case in Eastern Europe unfortunately. A uni professor and a nurse earning less than a call center operator makes no sense but it's true.
- For some areas of study like International Business or Marketing you can do without knowledge of the local language as many lectures are held in English so you have time to learn the local one. This is also true for many outsorcing companies but local corporations still rely a lot on the local language, esp. in marketing, sales and media for obvious reasons. But you can teach those very subjects in the same countries in EN.
- Exposure. I've gotten more exposure by profs and students citing my Master thesis which is now 5 years old and hence mentioning my name than I've achieved at my corporate gigs ever since. Even if you manage to become a team lead at a large corporation your name is less visible outside of the company unless you're a branch manager or the CEO.
But you won't be able to do the research you want. You will only do the research your granters want.
And you BETTER come to the conclusion they want, or else no more grants from them.
If you don't get the grants, you don't get to do the research. You'll send most of your time teaching.
You have to be really good at grant writing.
Either that or work as a post doc in a lab where the scientist in charge is really good at grant writing.
You will be going nowhere unless you have the budget.
If you don’t get the grants, and you are not tenured, you will be without a lab/job.
Even if you are tenured- you will be placed in an office in the subbasement with no grant funding.
- Most people are of a more liberal leaning than the general population and the people at corporations, hence why ethnic origin isn't such an issue
Again, depends on the school.
For some, ethnic origin becomes MORE of an issue - so much judging people based on skin color and race in academia. For others, it is politics that is the important thing (OK as long as you think exactly like us and never disagree - echo chamber)
Teaching puts you in authority over your students. A clerical back office admin worker has no such authority over anyone.
In academia you're surrounded by smarter people than in corporations. That's the problem with the real world -- that smart people usually stay in academia.
You have to be really good at grant writing.
Either that or work as a post doc in a lab where the scientist in charge is really good at grant writing.
You will be going nowhere unless you have the budget.
If you don’t get the grants, and you are not tenured, you will be without a lab/job.
Even if you are tenured- you will be placed in an office in the subbasement with no grant funding.
That's right.
Professors live and die on grants.
The Granters are the ones who tell them what to do. Zero freedom outside of that.
The Granters are the ones who tell them what to do. Zero freedom outside of that.
That's not true at all. If grant funders aren't interested in your research, then they don't fund your work. They don't dictate how and what research is done once the project is funded.
Teaching puts you in authority over your students.
Nope.
This is 2022, not 1952.
A Senator's daughter blows off your class, does no homework, and demands an A. Fail her and you get a nice lecture from your higher ups (and forced to change your grade) or they overrule your grade and change it for you.
A woman gets a bad grade and threatens to accuse you of sexual harassment if you don't change the grade.
Oops! Someone was offended by what you said in class Tuesday, and now you're being yelled by the Dean with your job at risk.
You'll be in a class filled with 20 students all looking at their phones frequently.
Teachers have far less authority than you think.
Quote:
In academia you're surrounded by smarter people than in corporations. That's the problem with the real world -- that smart people usually stay in academia.
If someone yelling at you gets you so upset, wait till you experience the politics of the university department.
Remember, tenure is voted on by your co-workers. So until you get tenure, not only do you need to be publishing like CRAZY you also will need to be "cultivating" (= sucking up to) the tenure committee. Don't forget, if you don't get tenure, you also lose your job. A couple of tenure fails and you'll not be hired for tenure-track positions any more, so you can look at adjunct status forever.
And schools are reducing the number of tenured positions as fast as they can, converting them to adjunct (which means zero job security, huge job load, low pay, and no career advancement)>
That's not true at all. If grant funders aren't interested in your research, then they don't fund your work. They don't dictate how and what research is done once the project is funded.
But they do care about outcomes.
A professor gets a grant by Tobacco company A, they want to know if cigarettes cause cancer. Professor's research concludes yes, cigarettes do cause cancer. That tobacco company never gives another grant to this professor again. All the other tobacco companies will never give another grant again.
A professor gets a grant by an environmental group that wants to know how bad climate change is. Professor's research is inconclusive or disproves their theory. Environmental groups will never give another grant to this professor again.
Sure and your beloved corporate world isn't utopia either. It's just like Office Space, The Office and the Gilbert cartoon irl.
Academia, while problematic and not perfect isn't as toxic as that. I've also yet to see a regular corporation to urge foreigners and minorities to apply on non menial/IT jobs.
As the saying goes Bulgarians in Germany either work as menial workers or as scholars.
Foreign nationals (i.e., persons not having Indian Passport, PIO/OCI cards) are strongly encouraged to apply for faculty positions. Foreign nationals can be offered contractual position for five years
I've seen similar for German unis.
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