Bummerville, CA, United States Superthread

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Axver said:
It bugs me that academia's so fucked up that at the time most other people around you are settling into a stable job, family, home, etc., the average academic is wondering where the next shitty short term contract will come from and whether they'll ever get something secure or if this whole lark was one big mistake setting them a decade behind the curve. I'm looking around at my mates and some are now really starting to earn a bit of money and make a career of what they're doing. Now sure, people may call me Dr these days, but I earn well below an average wage and have no job security. I'll even keep the below average wage if I can only get some bloody security.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat interested in going into academia, but that doesn't sound too great? I'm unsure about a few things now.
 
I wouldn't go into academia but it's the scandalous insecurity more than the salary that makes me say that. That and I don't have the aptitude/mindset or desire.
 
I did my Masters in the history of violence, terrorism blah blah. I am still very angry that I got screwed out of a tutoring gig on a war and peace subject because the person who got that gig (who studies environmental history!) is one of the department's favourites.
 
Honestly, guys, I just want to write articles and shove other professors into lockers. :(
 
Do not go into academia!

(Source: kind of in academia/trying to go into academia.)
 
It took several very negative articles to convince me not to go into academia.

Even then, the temptation is strong.

I'm just bummed out right now because I took on a temporary position and I knew it was temporary, but today I got my end date, and while it's still two months from now, this constant antsyness is fucking me up and making me literally sick. I don't want to have to do this again.

The problem I have is that the best contact I have is in sports, and I'm not really in sports anymore, though I'd like to be.

The other problem I'm having is that I applied for a position with NBC that I want too much.

Like, the only thing I've ever really wanted to do in my life in different ways, is work for NBC. When I was a kid, I wanted to work for Conan, as an adult, I wanted to work for our local news affiliate. Now I'd really enjoy working for the advertising section for several TV shows I love and care about. And in general my short term life goal is to be working for NBC when the Tokyo Olympics happen. So, whenever I apply for a position with the network, I'm on the edge of my seat. The problem this time is I applied for this job in February and the window for applying doesn't even close until next month. The position starts in June. So I have SO much time to wait in suspense/agony. And the idea of not even getting an interview after all that time is one I don't want to imagine.

Meanwhile, at my current job, a position the next level up is open, and now that I know when my last day in my current the role is, I'd really like to apply for it. But with them not approaching me about it, I gotta think they don't think I'm qualified, so I'm also super overly stressed out over whether or not I should approach my supervisor and say I want to be considered for the position or not. I don't want to embarrass myself.


So that's what's going on with me right now.
 
Oh damn, that sounds awfully stressful, Ashley. If I were you, I'd push for anything and everything. Make it known you're interested in that position; try to make a case if you can. Basically, don't die wondering. I throw my CV at anything I'm vaguely interested in, even if I'm grossly unqualified. Somehow I even got an interview in November for a position way above my level. It's always worth a shot.

As far as academia goes, it sounds even more hellish in the States than down here. I never quite know how to advise my really talented students when they come to me and ask about pursuing an academic career. On the one hand, I see somebody who's clever and passionate who I would love to count as a colleague a few years in the future. On the other hand, I know how hard it is to crack into academia, how poor the pay can be, how the instability can get to you, and how most other careers will lead to a good wage and working conditions sooner. So usually I end up giving them both the positives and negatives and let them make up their own mind, trying to make sure they know the stuff that I wish I had known six years ago (I still would've pursued the dream, but I would've done some things differently).

Vlad, at least you get the perk of studying in a field that has a major professional component!
 
A few other friends also told me to make it known I want the job, so I've spent a hellish day trying to catch the supervisor alone, because she shares an office with another person and in embarrassed to ask in front of him and it's just not happening.

90 minutes to go.
 
Axver said:
Vlad, at least you get the perk of studying in a field that has a major professional component!
Click to expand...

Yeah, quite a few of the lecturers in my course spent a lot of time in the field before going into academia etc. A lot of my consideration has been about whether I can do both work in the field and more academic pursuits, or if working in the field actually does have a major academic component. Lots to consider.
 
Ashley, could you have sent an email or phoned rather than asking face-to-face?

And Vlad, yeah, in more professional disciplines I've often seen people transition between academia and private practice, or even juggle the two. You see it especially frequently in medicine, where an individual will run a practice for a few days and hold a fractional academic appointment at a university, and I'm sure that must exist in other fields. Hell, we even have some comparable examples in History, but they're generally fixed-term contracts, e.g. a paid editor of a major journal published by a History department, who works that job 1-2 days a week and pursues other employment in public history or consulting for the rest of the time.
 
I thought face to face was better, and it was. We had a really good talk, and while she didn't know if this was the right opportunity for me, she forwarded me on to some people for some other stuff, which was great. So it was good I did it.
 
Good luck! Job stress is the fucking worst, so I hope you don't end up with too much of it. I'm still just not thinking about what happens to me end of this year. I have just scored a little bit of extra research assistance work, so that's maintaining one valuable contact I might need in 2016...
 
Alright...that went really well. When I know more, I'll let you all know. I love having you all to talk through this kind of stuff with. It gives me so much confidence to air out my worries, and then actually do what needs doing.
 
Oh that's great to hear, Ashley! Please do let us know how things go. Right now at my work a couple of recently completed postgrads are applying for pretty nice jobs and we all want them to succeed to give us hope that it's possible, that we won't be jobless forever. A similar thing applies here!
 
Hope things work out with the job Ashley



Hope everyone else is well too :wave:


Record Store Day left a hole in my wallet today and I didn't even get the U2 one, oh well got some cool stuff anyway

5G96yg4.jpg
 
I don't suppose anybody remembers what the custom user title beneath my screen name used to be? I remember when I hit 100,000 and Sicy created the new generic title for that level, I removed my custom title so it could be used, but I resolved to change it when I ceased to be the only person with over 100,000 posts. Turns out everybody's favourite human spambot has now cracked six figures as well, so it's time for a change but I have no ideas and wish I could remember what the old title was. I'm willing to bet it's probably something I now find embarrassing, but if it proves to be decent it may be worth reviving.
 
Damnit, I found some old screenshots but they're from before I had a custom user title. I did find all kinds of stuff from the Superthread's early days though, like the time when we started posting photos of ourselves holding handwritten comments rather than typing posts.
 
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