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In my experience Academics are genuinely interested in their fields and desire to engage in intellectual discourse. Some however are less interested in teaching and should never be college professors.

I'm in that last group, which is why I left my TA position.

Bleak_Fantasy wrote:Academia seems like its full of douchebag hipsters trying to be more unique and original then one another. At least in the private sector people who take charge and get gak done are the ones that get rewarded and move up. Granted there are a lot of douchebags in the private sector but only the competent ones usually get ahead. I can tolerate competent douchebags a lot more then I can hipster douchebags.

That entire statement is hilarious for so many different reasons.

There isn't a huge difference between academia and other sectors, to me, except the quality of conversations might be a bit higher in academia. Certainly a lot of high functioning sociopaths in both, at management levels.

Lets see, I needed Calculus 1, 2, and 3, Physics for Scientists and Engineers 1 and 2 (goes all the way up to Maxwell's Equations), Statistics 1, and Linear Algebra for my Computer Science degree.

The reason why is because the degree is Abet accredited. For more information about Abet: ABET

Da Boss wrote:There isn't a huge difference between academia and other sectors, to me, except the quality of conversations might be a bit higher in academia. Certainly a lot of high functioning sociopaths in both, at management levels.

To be fair, if you didn't start off well connected, you've likely had to make quite a few social sacrifices in order to end up higher on the totem pole, so to speak. As such, even if you didn't start out as a sociopath, you probably developed many of their habits along the way.

I agree though that there is a big difference between academia and not-academia. For one, especially in the upper echelons, the academy has a large degree of restriction that isn't really written on the tin. I basically had to threaten my way to dissertation approval.

dogma wrote:
I agree though that there is a big difference between academia and not-academia. For one, especially in the upper echelons, the academy has a large degree of restriction that isn't really written on the tin. I basically had to threaten my way to dissertation approval.

Que?

Frazzled wrote:

dogma wrote:
I agree though that there is a big difference between academia and not-academia. For one, especially in the upper echelons, the academy has a large degree of restriction that isn't really written on the tin. I basically had to threaten my way to dissertation approval.

Que?

Basically, no one in my department wanted to sign on as my dissertation adviser because the subject matter for it is not something a lot of political scientists deal with due to it being math intensive, but not related to conventional statistics alone. I basically told them collectively, and in a much more genial fashion, that if one of them didn't sign on I would take myself and my research to a competing department and make sure I was exceptionally honest with my new one, and a number of others along the way, about why I was leaving my current department.

There isn't much competition among professors within a department after getting tenure, but there is a lot of competition among academic departments of the same discipline when it comes to prestige, and they will generally back down if you say you'll do something that will damage their prestige.

dogma wrote:

Frazzled wrote:

dogma wrote:
I agree though that there is a big difference between academia and not-academia. For one, especially in the upper echelons, the academy has a large degree of restriction that isn't really written on the tin. I basically had to threaten my way to dissertation approval.

Que?

Basically, no one in my department wanted to sign on as my dissertation adviser because the subject matter for it is not something a lot of political scientists deal with due to it being math intensive, but not related to conventional statistics alone. I basically told them collectively, and in a much more genial fashion, that if one of them didn't sign on I would take myself and my research to a competing department and make sure I was exceptionally honest with my new one, and a number of others along the way, about why I was leaving my current department.

There isn't much competition among professors within a department after getting tenure, but there is a lot of competition among academic departments of the same discipline when it comes to prestige, and they will generally back down if you say you'll do something that will damage their prestige.

Excellent!

Gosh, on youtube i've watched a poorly edited oblivion character say 'eat the poopy' for about 5 minutes on loop and got more 'utility' than these snorefest videos.

The second one had the most of use to say but the general point was repeated i think about five or six times in slightly different ways. Which is true for them all, a very basic point pressed again and again and again and again.

A response (Rant) to a previous post in this thread next, spoilered for simplicity.

Perkustin wrote:Which is true for them all, a very basic point pressed again and again and again and again.

Clearly you have never dealt with university students as a teaching authority.

dogma wrote:Basically, no one in my department wanted to sign on as my dissertation adviser because the subject matter for it is not something a lot of political scientists deal with due to it being math intensive, but not related to conventional statistics alone. I basically told them collectively, and in a much more genial fashion, that if one of them didn't sign on I would take myself and my research to a competing department and make sure I was exceptionally honest with my new one, and a number of others along the way, about why I was leaving my current department.

Interesting.

I should try this in the future.

I prefer the "leap before you look" philosophy on life.

Do people get more upset if you threaten Y unless X or if you do X and tell them it was because Y?

dogma: You legend. That is the sort of ballsy approach needed. You will go as far as you want, I hope.

Academia is a funny one, I think. So full of aspirational people, rather than do-the-job-and-leave types that it utterly distorts it compared to other professions.

biccat wrote:
Do people get more upset if you threaten Y unless X or if you do X and tell them it was because Y?

The latter is generally worse, as they're usually pretty pissed about X.

Though, it must be said that once you start threatening, there are people you're only going to be able to deal with via threats because they'll hold a grudge.

corpsesarefun wrote:I bloody hate organic chemistry.

agreed.

A2 Chemistry is destroying my soul.

dogma wrote:

biccat wrote:
Do people get more upset if you threaten Y unless X or if you do X and tell them it was because Y?

The latter is generally worse, as they're usually pretty pissed about X.

Though, it must be said that once you start threatening, there are people you're only going to be able to deal with via threats because they'll hold a grudge.

It's entirely possible I got those letters mixed up.

Anyway, in my experience leaving and saying "I'm leaving because you guys are donkey caves" is not the best career advice.

Even if you do it diplomatically.

Da Boss wrote: You will go as far as you want, I hope.

So do I.

Da Boss wrote:
Academia is a funny one, I think. So full of aspirational people, rather than do-the-job-and-leave types that it utterly distorts it compared to other professions.

Its also a much more informal hierarchy, and really not something I would want to be a part of formally. I may publish here and there, but once I get my doctorate I'm all about making as much money as possible.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

biccat wrote:
Anyway, in my experience leaving and saying "I'm leaving because you guys are donkey caves" is not the best career advice.

Even if you do it diplomatically.

In the private sector that's true, but in the academy it isn't.

You don't need a recommendation from your present department to proceed as, even if you found no other willing department, you could drop out and publish independently while working wherever until you found a program that would take you.

That said, it does help that I have never intended to teach.

My dad told me long ago the top three reasons to go into academia:
1. June
2. July
3. August

Goliath wrote:

corpsesarefun wrote:I bloody hate organic chemistry.

agreed.

A2 Chemistry is destroying my soul.

That's actually me, I'm feeding on your soul to sustain my unholy lifeforce.

Thanks for putting these up, really got me laughing. I particularly liked in the lawyer one where she said she wanted to be a lawyer and he said something along the lines of "Oh are you a pre-med student who got a C- in Organic Chemistry?"

Kills me, because I remember getting a C- in Organic Chemistry! Ha ha. . . half the class failed. I re-took the class over the summer at a different college and got an A no problem. My first professor was the 70 year old that hated his students too. That cartoon hit it perfectly, my professor even referred to himself as "Sanglettoth Hawkins".

Classic! Thanks again

AustonT wrote:

Goliath wrote:

corpsesarefun wrote:I bloody hate organic chemistry.

agreed.

A2 Chemistry is destroying my soul.

That's actually me, I'm feeding on your soul to sustain my unholy lifeforce.

You bastard.

After forcing myself to read this I'm damned glad I didn't go in to law.

Melissia wrote:After forcing myself to read this I'm damned glad I didn't go in to law.

When it comes to law I prefer the "Ecce Romani" clause, which is when I yell "Look, [insert abstract noun here]!" before running out of the courthouse.

Melissia wrote:After forcing myself to read this I'm damned glad I didn't go in to law.

That would be so much better as a PowerPoint with fade-in and out graphics.

Easy E wrote:

Melissia wrote:After forcing myself to read this I'm damned glad I didn't go in to law.

That would be so much better as a PowerPoint with fade-in and out graphics.

And pictures of Pandas racing go karts.

There, this image would allow that document to create added synergy and a unified holistic message to be a single source of truth.