tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post654113877193981271..comments2024-03-24T21:12:27.165-07:00Comments on 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School: 95. Academics are unhappy.100 Reasonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13655155303350793785noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-30411857457627510032018-12-01T15:37:23.135-08:002018-12-01T15:37:23.135-08:00Unhappy as increased awareness shows you how thing...Unhappy as increased awareness shows you how thing really are (not pretty) and how hard it is to make any sufficiently large dnough change. Entropy truly dominates. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15077301421992192218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-58771745210069542222017-03-17T09:55:39.212-07:002017-03-17T09:55:39.212-07:00In my country PhDs are highly state subsidised. I ...In my country PhDs are highly state subsidised. I had a problem with the supervisor appointed to me and a good relationship with a prof who was retiring the year I enrolled. I went to the Dean with the demand that the retiring prof supervise my work or I (and the subsidy) would go to another institution. I was the last PhD he supervised.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-89692950099716763912016-11-25T11:39:37.564-08:002016-11-25T11:39:37.564-08:00PerfectPerfectAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-19286845191693456992016-09-23T22:29:11.078-07:002016-09-23T22:29:11.078-07:00I was in your position. Someone told me, "giv...I was in your position. Someone told me, "give the world a shot". I ended using the self teaching skills I had from academia to retrain myself to be a programmer. Life's pretty good now, there are many things a person who can learn thing and work hard can do in this world but don't kid yourself, it is going to be tough. On the other hand, you probably never had it as good as you thought you did in academia. Make the leap, you'll be surprised.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-41095911342595875502016-09-08T17:16:23.016-07:002016-09-08T17:16:23.016-07:00I studied multiple foreign languages and won schol...I studied multiple foreign languages and won scholarships like going to university in Germany based on my skills and this, in 1968 and then...by 1974, all language departments across the nation were dismantled and only the most basic, cheapest language skill teaching (first to fouth year whatever language classes) and all the sophisticated stuff was dumped into the garbage bin. Nothing remains. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-34363190154015532222016-08-29T16:41:15.788-07:002016-08-29T16:41:15.788-07:00this is precisely why i have not ever been, & ...this is precisely why i have not ever been, & will never be, interested in academia as a career. i worked in industry before i went to grad school, & i went into grad school with full intentions of picking up where i left off in industry after i graduate.grace @ the smokin' chemisthttp://www.smokinchemist.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-56645527902982008692016-08-21T20:28:21.831-07:002016-08-21T20:28:21.831-07:00I am doing a post-doc. But there is no work-life b...I am doing a post-doc. But there is no work-life balance. People around me only seem to know other academics, no-one else. They mostly have no hobbies. I don't want to live that way, as I enjoy many other things besides work. So despite the fear and guilt I have set myself a 12-month deadline to leave. I want to be happy again. Wise Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18026282765172035174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-35316349692992850942016-08-14T12:39:27.818-07:002016-08-14T12:39:27.818-07:00"two few jobs".
I hope English is not yo..."two few jobs".<br />I hope English is not your native language. Either way, just leave it if you feel it not right, leave it before you do more damage to yourself. It's not worth your health or happines. You can always learn some useful digital skills alone and find yourself a job somewhere. Igorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095515364951348912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-86257012564395478892016-08-12T21:54:01.094-07:002016-08-12T21:54:01.094-07:00What answer is there for someone like me, and othe...What answer is there for someone like me, and others who come to this site, who leave academia after being fed up with it? I'm in the process of leaving my 2 year MA program after coming to accept the fact that I hate it and that this degree in philosophy/linguistics will do nothing but make me more learned in a very specific and specialized subject. It won't help me find a job in academia since there are two few jobs, and I don't know how to market myself or my skills to find a decent pay elsewhere. What on earth is the next step for people like us? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-15015983226250190232016-07-27T15:51:32.266-07:002016-07-27T15:51:32.266-07:00Employers keep demanding those degrees. Even thoug...Employers keep demanding those degrees. Even though the students increasingly know nothing and are indoctrinated into unwavering belief in utter nonsense, the employers continue to want these degrees. The answer is saying no to college, or at least saying no to worthless degrees in worthless fields.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-69771320639502813422016-07-26T07:55:22.609-07:002016-07-26T07:55:22.609-07:00Academia - it's habits, mentalities and framew...Academia - it's habits, mentalities and framework - are simply outdated. That goes with a lot of the dominant ideology-heavy research that is currently popular, like feminism and postmodernism (two philosophies I used to swear by).<br /><br />With the internet proving to be a more open minded and reliable - and less politically driven - medium for information and intellectuals (such as Christina Hoff Sommers or the controversial Milo Yiannopoulos), why do we need academic professors and the environment they live in, which we all know is conducive of high debt and heavy mental damage/depressive symptoms?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15156049498699289797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-50355847560864630142016-07-20T20:16:35.021-07:002016-07-20T20:16:35.021-07:00I started grad studies in 1979 myself. It didn...I started grad studies in 1979 myself. It didn't take long for the image I had about academics to be shattered.<br /><br />I thought that what I saw was unique to the department I was in. Since then, I've been associated with several more departments either as a student or as a research assistant, as well as an instructor.<br /><br />I've since concluded it was a characteristic of the system.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-68724488419049811892016-07-18T15:19:29.346-07:002016-07-18T15:19:29.346-07:00A similar article was published a few days ago in ...A similar article was published a few days ago in the New York Times. Now in 2016 it is about STEM doctorates. <br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/upshot/so-many-research-scientists-so-few-openings-as-professors.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-11765374089306438442016-07-17T14:39:55.210-07:002016-07-17T14:39:55.210-07:00I'm reading from the other side of things, hav...I'm reading from the other side of things, having retired a little over a year ago. One piece of advice I can offer on how not to be unhappy: attain some distance by making a life apart from work, whatever that might involve. Having your colleagues as your social world is, I think, an unhealthy state of affairs. The constant discussion of course assignments, release time, projects in progress, who's on what committee: leave it at work to the extent that you can.<br /><br />The joys of private life (my spouse, our kids) made the academic workplace bearable for me. I was never absolutely miserable in any long-lasting way. But I can't tell you how many times, since I retired, people have said to me, "You look so relaxed!"<br /><br />I've shared your website with many undergrads over the years. There's some hard-won wisdom here, for which many readers are grateful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-6362482115939575632016-07-16T21:27:34.319-07:002016-07-16T21:27:34.319-07:00Agreed. That's why I posted it. I was a grad...Agreed. That's why I posted it. I was a grad student in history 1979-1981. A lot of the same issues discussed on this forum were already present then. I'm astounded by how there's been no improvement at all over the last several decades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-56639476478049400842016-07-16T19:25:07.485-07:002016-07-16T19:25:07.485-07:00That article could have been written yesterday. No...That article could have been written yesterday. Nothing has improved in 40 years. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-50873920333956657222016-07-16T03:14:05.875-07:002016-07-16T03:14:05.875-07:00Here's an oldie, but goodie. Note the year of...Here's an oldie, but goodie. Note the year of publication.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/18/archives/a-generation-of-lost-scholars-scholars.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-27445247976893460022016-07-09T15:22:50.448-07:002016-07-09T15:22:50.448-07:00There's also the frustration as how political ...There's also the frustration as how political the academic system really is and that one may need to have a defective character in order to advance significantly in the pecking order.<br /><br />At the post-secondary institution where I used to teach, the last dean I answered to was a know-nothing, do-nothing bully--at least that's how he was with me. He got the position largely because it was a patronage appointment, a reward for his long-time service.<br /><br />Recently, I found out who the new dean of my old faculty at my alma mater is. I audited a course from him nearly 2 decades ago when he was a newly-hired prof and, even then, he acted like an arrogant jackass, at least during some of the dealings I had with him. There didn't seem to be even a gram of professionalism or courtesy in him.<br /><br />A few years ago, I found out that he had become head of his department and even then, I thought, "Oh, brother!" Well, now he has the job he seemed to be suited for and I'm sure he'll eventually become a university vice-president.<br /><br />I shouldn't have been all that surprised. The previous 2 deans came from the same department. The earlier one was a politically-correct lickspittle, more concerned with empire-building than providing an effective deanship. I gathered from my Ph. D. supervisor that many of the faculty disliked him.<br /><br />His successor was a smooth talker and, based on a conversation I had when I met him at an alumni gathering, pure politics.<br /><br />Does academe attract and cater to such people, or is the system so horrible that people will do anything to rise above it, including being venomous back-stabbers?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-45732620247049210922016-07-09T15:08:20.823-07:002016-07-09T15:08:20.823-07:00In my experience, talent and hard work count for n...In my experience, talent and hard work count for nothing in academe.<br /><br />For example, grad studies is a lot like being a Roman gladiator in the Colosseum.<br /><br />Whether one's supervisor will actually provide support or, for that matter, permits one to finish their thesis and get their degree is like Caesar determining whether someone lived or died by the direction of his thumb.<br /><br />Oh, and don't forget the laboratory equivalent of the casting couch.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-57118006877659415182016-07-05T12:27:06.997-07:002016-07-05T12:27:06.997-07:00Part of what lies behind academics' unhappines...Part of what lies behind academics' unhappiness is that, in a lot of ways, they're living a lie. They know (the self-aware ones) that the "service" they're providing is not worth what students are paying for it. <br /><br />They can't be honest with themselves, their students, or their colleagues about a lot of things. <br /><br />That's true with research, too. A comment from another blog (in a thread on the subject of why Western academic economists did such a bad job of understanding the Soviet economy) says a lot about how things work in academia:<br /><br />"Economics is a social science, and as a social science a priori thinking that reinforces the status quo is always the source of maximum returns on a career basis. Outliers are routinely punished, and being correct is no defense."<br /><br />https://westhunt.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/economists-and-the-reds/#commentsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-75754827991024942352016-07-05T12:02:23.315-07:002016-07-05T12:02:23.315-07:00You're not going to get any respect as a grad ...You're not going to get any respect as a grad student, and you're going to have a hard time finding other grad students that you respect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-28882337358741463382016-06-27T21:29:50.284-07:002016-06-27T21:29:50.284-07:00In my experience, it wasn't pity I received, b...In my experience, it wasn't pity I received, but contempt and derision. By pursuing graduate studies, I was seen by some to be over-educated, inept, and incompetent. Others took umbrage that I should pursue the studies that they couldn't.<br /><br />Few people saw that adding to one's education was a privilege and, to successfully complete them, an honourable achievement.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-88742234648687690172016-06-26T02:46:42.031-07:002016-06-26T02:46:42.031-07:00I think that a good reason to be added to this lis...I think that a good reason to be added to this list is that graduate students are not role models. I thought that having a Masters and a PhD degrees will make me special in the eyes of my students and family but I later discovered that being a lecturer or professor does not mean that. Still, I will start my PhD in September because I feel that this is the only useful thing that I can do with my life. I start to feel that most people feel pity for us instead of giving us the respect that we deserve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-18274094470326788742016-06-06T11:43:29.810-07:002016-06-06T11:43:29.810-07:00My Ph. D. had an enormous sense of entitlement. I...My Ph. D. had an enormous sense of entitlement. I'm sure that was because his having tenure, or, rather, the job security that comes with it, allowed him to behave as if he was accountable to nobody but himself.<br /><br />He whined a lot when he had to do something related to my thesis. On the other hand, he bent over backwards to help his favourite grad student with whom he might have been having an affair.<br /><br />Similarly, at the tech college where I used to teach, my department head spent most of his time on his pet projects, dumping his work on the assistant head. The ADH, in turn, dumped anything that he didn't like or required his signature on all of my colleagues, preferring to shoot the breeze with people, sit around and drink coffee, or surf the Internet in his office.<br /><br />He, too, whined whenever he had to do anything.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-81960157390573749092016-06-05T20:16:43.797-07:002016-06-05T20:16:43.797-07:00So much ego, arrogance, and narcissism. It becomes...So much ego, arrogance, and narcissism. It becomes unbearable. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com