academia is not as shiny as it sometimes seems, but it can be great. You can have a lot of freedom to do what you like, work when you like, how you like… do meaningful things. Not always, but the chance is there
it’s not to get rich. Selling expensive textbooks is rookie level exploitation compared to what people do in the industry, and most of the profit doesn’t even go to the prof
The book to read for this is “the professor is in”. The author takes quite a cynical perspective about academia, but in many ways it’s true. Worth a read (and probably you can get it for cheap second hand)
I’m not concerned with getting rich, I just want to be able to afford to support myself, and potentially a kid one day (though, that’s increasingly unlikely). I’m a full time caregiver for my mom, she’s disabled, and bedridden. So working from home is pretty important. I don’t have any kind of, like, ivory tower aspirations or anything. I don’t imagine I’m going to change the world, or be some oft-quoted academic. Lol. I’d love to teach Anthropology and go on digs some day, but I’m getting an English (creative writing) degree, and I’d love to just have a relatively stable income teach some kids about story structure one day.
Different prof here, but a few thoughts:
The book to read for this is “the professor is in”. The author takes quite a cynical perspective about academia, but in many ways it’s true. Worth a read (and probably you can get it for cheap second hand)
I will check that book out, thanks!
I’m not concerned with getting rich, I just want to be able to afford to support myself, and potentially a kid one day (though, that’s increasingly unlikely). I’m a full time caregiver for my mom, she’s disabled, and bedridden. So working from home is pretty important. I don’t have any kind of, like, ivory tower aspirations or anything. I don’t imagine I’m going to change the world, or be some oft-quoted academic. Lol. I’d love to teach Anthropology and go on digs some day, but I’m getting an English (creative writing) degree, and I’d love to just have a relatively stable income teach some kids about story structure one day.