Friday, February 27, 2009

A rare glimpse

I have seen the enemy, and he is us.

I went to lunch with my advisor and a visiting speaker. I was mainly a spectator for the unusually candid conversation between them. A great deal of the conversation consisted of complaining.

Among the things they complained about were that they:

  • Are not paid enough or fairly
  • Have too many unofficial responsibilities
  • Too often take the burden of assisting incompetent people while getting little in return
  • Experience abusive treatment backed by threats against career advancement
  • Want more recognition of their contributions to their departments
  • Sometimes suffer consequences from "shaft clauses" buried in the fine print of their employment contracts

In other words... they are indistinguishable from grad students and postdocs.

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