“Great Resignation” in the Academia
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https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01512-6
This is about more mid-career scientists expressing discontent with the academia and leaving the academia. No, it’s not about ideology or culture war issues. It boils down to basic economics, complains like too much work for not enough pay, not enough support, not enough prospect for career advancement.
We stopped reading about the “great resignation” for maybe a couple of months now in the private business sector, but it looks like the trend is now hitting the academia.
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@Jolly said in “Great Resignation” in the Academia:
IOW, money.
No, I think that's not the main reason in the majority of the cases.
People who are primarily interested in money would never start a university career anyway.
A lack of safety - not having a "permanent job" until your late 30s or even mid 40s - is one of the main thing people worry about.
Ever shrinking academic freedom - not in the political but in the practical sense of "too much bureaucracy" is another one.
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@Jolly said in “Great Resignation” in the Academia:
IOW, money.
No, I think that's not the main reason in the majority of the cases.
People who are primarily interested in money would never start a university career anyway.
A lack of safety - not having a "permanent job" until your late 30s or even mid 40s - is one of the main thing people worry about.
Ever shrinking academic freedom - not in the political but in the practical sense of "too much bureaucracy" is another one.
@Klaus said in “Great Resignation” in the Academia:
A lack of safety - not having a "permanent job" until your late 30s or even mid 40s - is one of the main thing people worry about.
I was in academic medicine for 9 years. Our university had a policy that one could not be a chairman after the age of 65.
Ed was a great chairman, and he was a good man to work for and he was eminently fair. He was one of those people that realized that there's more to an academic institution than just publishing papers.
Such as teaching (and I was good). Such as administration (I was in charge of scheduling cases and assigning coverage). Such as clinical skills (I was good at that too). My CV is pathetically short wrt publications.
Consequently, I understood that when Ed was forced to step down, I had no assurance that my position, or even my job, would be secure with a new chairman with a focus on academics.
That was one of the major reasons I left academic medicine.
ETA: I was 39 when I left academia.
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I was fortunate enough to attend a small private school, that valued the ability to teach over the ability to publish. And did not believe in teaching assistants and rarely hired an adjunct.
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I was fortunate enough to attend a small private school, that valued the ability to teach over the ability to publish. And did not believe in teaching assistants and rarely hired an adjunct.
@Jolly another thing.
Ed was the guy who decided salaries in the department. He was given a budget by the university for salaries, and he divvied it up.
At the time I left, I was the 2nd or 3rd highest paid. I was told that by someone who was on the committee.
