tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post1069858984984687641..comments2024-03-24T21:12:27.165-07:00Comments on 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School: 84. The politics are vicious.100 Reasonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13655155303350793785noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-76075025273900178962018-08-02T06:54:19.830-07:002018-08-02T06:54:19.830-07:00As an undergrad, I loved being college. It was gr...As an undergrad, I loved being college. It was great! Eventually, I went back to grad school to get my terminal degree because ...um... I wanted to be tenure-track professor. If this is a person's career goal, you WILL NOT be told the realities of even landing those jobs. They don't tell you its practically impossible. Their job is to recruit you and bolster their enrollment. The ugly politics started to make themselves apparent in my first year. I've been stuck in adjunct purgatory ever since. I've worked a lot of different jobs. I've dealt with office politics but academia is a special brand of dysfunctional passive aggressiveness. I've seen where 2 tenured faculty members who can't stand each other. Its so bad they can't even be in the same room with each other. Yet these 2 people will still gain up to try and get rid of an adjunct who less than an 1/8th of their salaries and works multiple jobs. I keep hearing from tenure faculty how busy they are and how tough it is but what I'm experiencing I think its a load a crap! If they can play Mean Girls with a low paid adjunct faculty or try to undermine a graduate student's thesis, then they have way too much time on their hands. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-77205640138862082442018-01-29T15:18:24.285-08:002018-01-29T15:18:24.285-08:00#metoo . My naivety made me openly praise a partic...#metoo . My naivety made me openly praise a particular professors work, without understanding political factions. The shit storm that followed crippled me. One poster is right. The right effect it has on you is paranoia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-6061872216878236322018-01-29T15:09:01.892-08:002018-01-29T15:09:01.892-08:00How naive, jeez, be nice? I have been pushed, prod...How naive, jeez, be nice? I have been pushed, prodded, failed and called names, only because they could do it and used me as a pawn in their petty political games.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-75482683050069869332016-01-23T16:05:46.977-08:002016-01-23T16:05:46.977-08:00I'm so glad I'm not alone.I'm so glad I'm not alone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-3922669145984568842015-12-24T11:51:49.608-08:002015-12-24T11:51:49.608-08:00Great and inspiring post. Great and inspiring post. Taura Janinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-32661225580151694022015-09-12T11:01:43.220-07:002015-09-12T11:01:43.220-07:00administrator*
My phone's auto-correct is ho...administrator* <br />My phone's auto-correct is horrible. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-38125830279004651272015-09-12T10:59:42.556-07:002015-09-12T10:59:42.556-07:00The politics are especially apparent when there ar...The politics are especially apparent when there are awards involved. You can be the best researcher/teacher/administer, but the student of someone influential always win the awards. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-16538511775855760522015-05-19T12:15:12.686-07:002015-05-19T12:15:12.686-07:00"...and as someone coming out of a long prior..."...and as someone coming out of a long prior career in which my tendency toward call-it-like-I-see-it bluntness was valuable, I find this IMMENSELY frustrating, incredibly stupid, and a total waste of time and energy." EXACTLY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-23545783425632024262015-03-15T20:46:28.639-07:002015-03-15T20:46:28.639-07:00What I want to know is, how in the world are we ev...What I want to know is, how in the world are we ever supposed to know about these rivalries and dramatic sagas if we're always supposed to "be professional" and can never really ask these questions openly? The politics of academia are shrouded in mystery (I'm a new graduate student), and as someone coming out of a long prior career in which my tendency toward call-it-like-I-see-it bluntness was valuable, I find this IMMENSELY frustrating, incredibly stupid, and a total waste of time and energy. My refusal to play politics, it seems, is a compelling reason to question my new career choice (well, that, and a few other important concerns). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-69116128187789735492014-11-02T18:20:33.239-08:002014-11-02T18:20:33.239-08:00Administration gets cushier pay, steadier work, gr...Administration gets cushier pay, steadier work, greater respect, more opportunities and more mobility - all for far less upfront effort and investment (no PhD needed - in fact, university presidents don't even have to have work histories involving education!).<br /><br />The administration says "Jump" and most faculty have to ask "How high." <br /><br />Administrative demands on faculty are becoming increasingly frequent and numerous, as paradoxically it is the faculty members that have to defend their existences, not the administrators. <br /><br />Administration has ballooned whereas many departments face cutbacks in money, resources, and faculty. <br />The growth in administration is at least partly responsible for the rapid escalation of tuition and fees.<br /><br />All this despite the fact that administration is not the principal contributor to the essential products of the academy - except where politics and their positions have made them so.<br /><br />What's not to hate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-61678559171172550952014-09-05T13:55:36.487-07:002014-09-05T13:55:36.487-07:00They aren't going anywhere? Who among them nee...They aren't going anywhere? Who among them needs to? They're paid 6 figures, they get excellent benefits, they work 2 days a week, and they can never be fired. Who doesn't want that? The point is, they're too spoiled to see how good their lives are compared to the real world. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-89084122828858508042014-09-05T13:52:02.626-07:002014-09-05T13:52:02.626-07:00Tenured liberal arts professors have the cushiest ...Tenured liberal arts professors have the cushiest jobs in the world. They only come into the office 2 days a week, they take sabbaticals on someone else's dime to go fart around in Europe. They won't mentor undergrads. They refuse to do any fundraising. And they sit around bitching about the university's benefits. Most of them need a good kick in the ass. So you think you can study under them without conflict? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-22639285869753292412014-07-28T14:00:39.150-07:002014-07-28T14:00:39.150-07:00Four year ago I entered academia as a professor af...Four year ago I entered academia as a professor after amassing 27 years of professional engineering experience. The politics in my particular group are ridiculous. There is one professor in particular who delights in backstabbing, petty vindictiveness, spreading false rumors, etc. To make it worse, her husband is also a professor and engages in the same pathetic behavior.<br />I have more than twice as many students and publications as the two of them combined, yet they have time and energy to undercut me at every opportunity.<br />I have never seen such pettiness in my life!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12074293127696279486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-43775976702148907542014-04-07T21:30:20.854-07:002014-04-07T21:30:20.854-07:00Probably more like seven or eight plusProbably more like seven or eight plusAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-50288017876329098122014-04-07T21:14:53.542-07:002014-04-07T21:14:53.542-07:00Happy for you. But for most people it is not true ...Happy for you. But for most people it is not true that if they are persistent they'll probably find an academic job. The supply of job seekers so exceeds the number of jobs it's just not mathematically possibleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-59368610738248863612014-04-07T21:02:13.038-07:002014-04-07T21:02:13.038-07:00It varies greatly among departments. Some are reas...It varies greatly among departments. Some are reasonably supportive but some are snake pits. Luck of the draw. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-52914725346824890342014-02-15T12:51:06.828-08:002014-02-15T12:51:06.828-08:00Reading this is oddly comforting. Thanks for posti...Reading this is oddly comforting. Thanks for posting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-42264167394019101952014-01-22T15:27:42.863-08:002014-01-22T15:27:42.863-08:00Depressing.Depressing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-87612081740378031152013-11-21T15:48:12.697-08:002013-11-21T15:48:12.697-08:00There are not many conservatives in Academia becau...There are not many conservatives in Academia because listening to public servants rant about how Bush is the devil incarnate gets boring pretty quickly. Also those who advocate small government don't often have a strong desire to work for the governmentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-4301582052624757812013-11-18T12:43:09.867-08:002013-11-18T12:43:09.867-08:00Week 8? Quit. Quit now.Week 8? Quit. Quit now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-17820995562593221662013-10-15T08:47:29.875-07:002013-10-15T08:47:29.875-07:00I am in wk 8 of my PhD program and I am already ge...I am in wk 8 of my PhD program and I am already getting this. It's real and it's ugly. Five plus years to go! Yayyy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-89815148311141778702013-09-17T18:45:23.682-07:002013-09-17T18:45:23.682-07:00"Perhaps they are even actively discriminated..."Perhaps they are even actively discriminated against in hiring."<br /><br />I've been on many hiring committees and politics has NEVER been an issue. It's impossible to divine someone's politics from their CV or research. Maybe there are exceptions in some politically-charged fields, but I'm in a humanities discipline and don't notice it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-64385813266599529342013-09-09T06:05:19.821-07:002013-09-09T06:05:19.821-07:00Yes Yes Yes. Stalinist all the way. Yes Yes Yes. Stalinist all the way. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-75968197708192540742013-09-09T04:39:13.591-07:002013-09-09T04:39:13.591-07:00I first attended graduate school in history at a v...I first attended graduate school in history at a very large, mediocre state university that is the largest campus in one of the nation's largest cities. It was a terminal M.A. program, and the department, whose members mostly ranged from mediocre to middling, exhibited every single symptom of dysfunctionality discussed here. One professor, whom I initially liked until I finally realised how Stalinist-PC he was, could project a hefty dollop of Southern charm when he had the inclination. He was a dynamic lecturer but in point of fact a terrible mediocrity--he had labored over thirty years to publish one obscure medium-sized volume. Anyhow, he was mortal enemies with another professor, an old-fashioned gentlemanly type, European-born. (The two of them were about the same age and had been tenured for more than thirty years.) The latter was utterly old-school, to the point of absurdity--obsessed with facts and details, he gave pure regurgitation exams. The Southern Stalinist, on the other hand, regarded himself as cutting-edge, having completely drunk the race-class-gender-postmodernist Kool-Aid. In point of fact, he was quite easy to deal with, provided that you could look yourself in the mirror afterwards: You simply had to agree with him about everything in the universe. The hatred between the two men was so massive that the department chair had long since ensured that their office-cubicles were at opposite ends of the building. The commentator above who stated that the shit that went down wouldn't fly in the real world has it dead to rights. I wasn't a kid myself--I was around thirty-five--but to experience such sheer petulant childishness from an admittedly intelligent, well-read and erudite man in his late sixties was astonishing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-75778399272346314582013-06-12T19:33:55.198-07:002013-06-12T19:33:55.198-07:00I'm writing a book featuring academic pettines...I'm writing a book featuring academic pettiness and would appreciate any specific examples you can give me (e.g., professor who doesn't get tenure sabotages another prof's research).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424541818721261430noreply@blogger.com