One of my favourite bloggers recently wrote a post about his top five dream jobs and invited readers to list theirs in the comment section. I was surprised by how many people said that if money, education and time allowed, they would become professors. I obviously don't have a problem with that; it's a great career and can be really rewarding.*
But the thing that bothered me is that a lot of those people wrote that they didn't want the obligation of research/publishing, they just wanted to teach. Ex-squeeze me? Do they totally misunderstand the responsibilities of professors? Teaching is important, but research is equally so in academia. One guy wrote that he wanted to work at a liberal arts college because there was no pressure to publish. Is that true? And does mean that they only teach and don't do any research of their won? (So I guess they work about 4 hours a week...) Or maybe research is voluntary, so people who want to do it can, but there's no obligation. But as we know from the fucking Commies, people don't do extra work if they're not compensated for it. So I'm confused, are these professors at liberal arts colleges no more than glorified high school teachers? And if that's not the case, if the blog made a mistake and profs do have to publish, then the commenters brought the expression "dream job" to another level by inventing a career that is doesn't exist.
Anywho, on a less snobby note, it's a cool idea to think about your dream jobs. So if I had to pick something else to do with my life, it would be:
1. Plumber. No joke. That's some serious money in it, plus it sounds fun. I hear it's the shit.
2. Travel writer. No explanation necessary.
3. Doctor. Except I hate blood. And helping people. But other than that...
4. Scientist. I spent most of my undergrad planning to go into Molecular Bio. I know I made the right choice but part of me still misses it.
5. Professor at a small liberal arts college. What? Sounds like an easy life!
* Benefits include the satisfaction of molding eager young minds, an adequate salary after about 10 years of post-secondary studies and flexible working hours. Drawbacks include crazy profs with tenure who refuse to retire and putting up with your students' endless gossip about your sex life and possible nipple rings.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Being a total academic snob myself, I am completely of the opinion that "small liberal arts colleges" are basically high school. I wouldn't expect "professors" at said colleges to publish, because, like, who's going to read their stuff anyway? Also, due to the small size of the faculty and the unruly high school-minded student body, they probably have their hands full trying unsuccessfully to teach their students to write coherent sentences and correctly employ the verb "to be". They also probably spend alot of their time at student disciplinary hearings and keggers.
So... teaching at Nipissing must suck. QED.
Top 5 Dream jobs:
1. Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford..
2. Trophy wife of young, glamorous, international business mogul
3. Religious leader of Iran (the masses will quiver at my feet..)
4. Bush plane pilot in the far north (such a romantic profession, old school)
5. African big game hunter (ok, so true, I would hate to actually kill anything, but oh, the glory of the chase..)
It is an uncomfortable divide between research and teaching because the expectations and applications of a University education versus a college/trade school education have shifted dramatically during the 20th century.
A trade school graduate can easily make more money than many University Baccalaureates where as some degrees have as much of an applied component to them as certificate.
So now, universities are finding that their best researchers and publishers are horrible teachers and vice versa and unfortunately, students are suffering because the research capabilities, understandably (and maybe thankfully in my case) have priority.
I think that any person who embodies both qualities should be at the head of every department, but there also needs to be a recognition that such capabilities are really quite distinct from one another and that students and faculty can benefit by having such a division of labour at their university.
Introductory University courses are emblematic of how a good instructor might trump a good researcher whereas an Honours seminar would benefit from a researcher rather than an instructor.
Well, enough of that rant.
Top 5 Dream Jobs:
1. Computer Nut (Honestly a techie at heart and I sometimes regret not being a computer geek when I was younger)
2. Production Company President/ Film Festival Coordinator
3. SUCCESSFUL Scriptwriter
4. Plumber (I agree! And it would save one a damn lot of money too)
5. University President (Though it requires a PhD, no research or teaching required. IDEAL!)
I think it also really depends on the discipline because there are some fields, like Bio, where the research is so important that departments will be more likely to hire (and grant tenure to) someone who is not a good instructor but is a fantastic researcher. I've found from my own personal experience that the Sciences have a huge range in the teaching abilities of profs. A lot of them just view teaching as a distraction from their "real" work and don't put very much effort into it.
There isn't that range in the Arts though. I guess that's because nothing we do matters that much. It's not like we'll be developing the cure for cancer, so who the fuck cares about our research? I think that the department feels it's better to hire someone who is acceptable (notice I didn't say good!) at both.
And Lyds, stop being funnier than me on my own blog. I can't believe I didn't think of being a trophy-wife...I think I'd need blonde hair for that, right?
Whew, that's a toughy.
1. Museologist. In my brief foray into museology I was exposed to a world of playing with artifacts, doing random research, and drinking free coffee.
2. IT guy. Based on the IT guys I have had dealings with (aside from the ones I actually personally know), I'm thinking that the job consists of more coffee, and not actually having to fix a computer at all.
3. Video Game tester. Me having to get over the slight hurdle of being absolute crap at video games.
4. Professional Curler (with the rocks and the ice). Hey, I'm sure it could happen.
5. Interior Designer. Just so I can design all my rooms around Lay-z-Boys and ceiling fans. Take that Trading Spaces.
I looooove museums so I think that would be a cool job. I could live in London's Museum of Natural History (which you have to go to!!) Speaking of jobs with coffee, my step-brother works at Starbucks and gets a pound of free coffee a week. I'm seriously considering working there just for the perks.
Post a Comment