Post: #1

Anyone working an academia and liking it?

I know it gets a bad rep, but I am wondering if it's actually the industry I am cut out for, since I basically enjoy this stuff in my free time.

All of my ancestors were either academics or priests/ministers (and one doctor)... ie., people who made a living off having an opinion.

I have tried to get into corporate stuff (finance and energy internships), but every time I somehow end up falling short and performing averagely. I'm an intelligent guy and have nothing serious wrong with me, so I should basically excel in whatever I end up choosing. If I'm not succeeding or among the best, which has happened many times the past five years, I'm starting to wonder if I should stop trying to do stuff I am not meant to do and instead just become a goddamn academic, like my Dad, Mom, Grandfather, etc., etc.

I feel incredibly stuck and uninspired.

Post: #2

Hah I kind of think the same about myself sometimes.

There's other options though. What particular field do you like? There's almost certainly ways to use that in jobs that you aren't aware of yet, failing that there's plenty of writing/editing type stuff you could do, some for quite interesting and worthwhile companies. Plenty of non-profits need proposal writers, grant writers, white paper writers, etc.

BTW, becoming an academic these days is no walk in the park. You gotta spend ten years on a PhD and then post-doc position before you can earn what a graduate with 1 years experience earns in the private sector... that's ifyou get tenure and your subject is a meaty one with funding available. If you want to be a philosophy professor or something, that's almost impossible these days. Getting a job is actually alot easier!

Post: #3

I would suggest getting a full-time job in a position related to what you would like to teach/research and enroll in a graduate program part-time in the same area. Upon completion, you should have at least 3 years of industry experience.

Post: #4

There's that old joke that goes:

All the kids who got A's in college end up becoming teachers, all the kids who got B's end up going corporate, and all the kid's with Cs end up becoming presidents.

Post: #5

I have no ambition to do a PhD. I'm about a year away from completing a graduate degree.

I just felt like ranting. I think the best strategy is just to take subjects I like, do well, and count on high grades being my ticket.

Post: #6

I would have loved to get a Ph.D. and be a history prof. It seems like the ideal job -generous pay, wonderful benefits, low hours, long holidays, social status... Problem is, these days tenured professors are rare, and most schools would rather hire part- time adjuncts whom they don't have to provide benefits for. It can be quite difficult even to secure an adjunct position, let alone a tenure-track full time job. STEM fields don't suffer from this as much as liberal arts, because for every guy who aspires to be a physics professor, there are ten who want to teach literature, philosophy, or composition.

I'm not saying you shouldn't pursue your dream, but as a man who has to make a living, do take a hard and honest look at realistic employment prospects for your field. There are a not-insignificant number of newly minted PhD's on the dole these days, and I personally know more than one guy with a Masters who works at Wal-Mart for lack of anything better.

Post: #7

What part of academia would you be looking to go into? Teaching? Research? University level? Community college level?

Being a Ph.D. professor at the university level isn't an easy job, as some might think. There's so much crap to deal with in just getting a Ph.D., and then a professor's job involves long hours with teaching, research, grant proposals, writing papers, etc. A university professor doesn't get to enjoy the same long holidays as students; those long breaks are just a break from teaching so the professor can do more research.

If you want to teach at the college level without a Ph.D., the best option is a community college, which usually only requires a Master's in your subject. I've done some part-time teaching at a community college and am currently considering looking into full-time options. When you're just teaching, you should get similar amounts of time off as the students. I'd love to work a teaching job for 9 months, get paid a decent salary, and then have summers off to travel.

Also, being a college teacher comes with the perk of giving you access to an endless supply of cute college girls. And as you're already in a position of authority over them, all you then need is minimal game and no moral qualms about banging your students.

Post: #8

(02-06-2013 08:27 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  Anyone working an academia and liking it?

I work part-time in academia.

I dislike the push to publish. In academia there's this pressure to 'publish or perish.' My duties are more related to teaching so I am not as sucked into it but there is this incredibly arbitrary world where a small amount of people get to decide what gets published and what doesn't. The result is that it really is a world of pen pushers desperately passing the shit tests of the journal publishers. This is not what I thought science was meant to be.

Teaching is a lot of fun though. Until you turn from writing on the board and notice that most of the class is asleep. Funny, I used to sleep in class. Now I know what it's like to be on the other end. Marking papers can be mind-numbing.

I can't imagine myself in this setup long term. I can see it getting boring.

Post: #9

I was thinking more like working for a think-tank. With ideas and policy proposals. I'm mostly interested in ideas.

Post: #10

I just saw a football coach get fired for sleeping with students, are you actually allowed to sleep with students?

I would consider a business ph.d but I see friends who got Cs in university pulling in good and meaningful jobs, makes me think twice.

Post: #11

(02-06-2013 03:23 PM)ElJefe Wrote:  I was thinking more like working for a think-tank. With ideas and policy proposals. I'm mostly interested in ideas.

That's not academia. That's politics.

Post: #12

A think tank would be cool especially if it's doing work you think is really worthwhile. I wonder about that, doing something like Systems Dynamics, which I think is awesome, and applies to so many areas of public policy. The field is still young though and hasn't much caught the eye of governments yet. They're still relying on their Economists (who havent read Economyths ).

Post: #13

You should speak to Divorco. Pm him.