I’m not PhD material. Not because I’m not smart enough, but because I am simply unwilling to toil away for five years to eventually maybe get a job that I probably won’t enjoy a whole heck of a lot.One of the most honest descriptions of leaving academia. I loved this paragraph :
”But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Oh, you think I’m bad? You should see how my Professor treated me! I’m nice!” as if that excuses any behavioral transgression. It’s a vicious, stupid, self-perpetuating cycle that reduces scientific research to some sort of hazing ritual. And, once your tenured, you can really start being a dick in earnest, because why be nice if there are no repercussions to being mean?”
Let’s bring some humanity back to the sciences.
This is the second article I’ve seen this week about how awful grad school/academia is and I find it super frustrating because my experiences are NOTHING like what is described in this article. I understand that some areas of science are different than others and hey, I might have gotten lucky, but seriously? These just sound like bad situations.
Sure, sometimes I work long days or weekends, but I also go for hour long lunches or take a three day weekend randomly because I wanted to. I work from 11am to 7pm, because that’s what I prefer (and no one cares).
And I have hobbies. I have a social life. I fall asleep thinking about Dr. Who, Game of Thrones, my loved ones, or horses — not microbial ecology.
Anyhow, rant over. I’m only a grad student, so maybe I’m super naïve, but trust me - it’s not that bad. Especially if you don’t make it that way.
Do you think perhaps mobility is a factor? I just quit my job and have the freedom to transition to whatever I like, find something that works better for me, as long as I have my financial bases covered.
