Hi Lentax, I'm not going to add to the comments as much has been said and pretty much anything I might have added has been mentioned ( I also think you need a phd-and a hell of a lot more in the way of publications and postdoc research- for academia) but I would really like to congratulate you on creating such a topical and interesting thread. It has been a while (mind you I have been away for a while so may have missed some previous threads).

I also think you have handled yourself really well in the face of what could seem to be some really daunting responses, albeit all of them well meant, and that certainly would suggest that you are well capable of handling yourself in academia and phd land should you choose to go down the research pathway in the future.

I know of a few who've got academic posts without PhDs. They usually hung around departments as associate lecturers for ten years or so. They also had strong publication records. It's a tough low paid route. Oh and there's a successful film producer I know who was given a professorship straight off the bat.

It does happen but it's rare and getting rarer all the time.

A year on, and I wonder how the glittering academic career *sans PhD* is going :D

well this thread amused me. Here's me coming to the end of my PhD, feeling like my c.v doesn't look good enough to get me a teaching assistant post and feeling quite glum about it.

I hope the poster doesn't read my response because I'm not trying to belittle her. But in fairness, coming on a postgraduate forum and saying I think I'm better than you mugs slaving away at PhD, I'm actually probably a superstar really, even though I have nothing that would prove this by the way of work experience or actual qualifications, but i do have a MSc a pair of rose tinted glasses and no concept of how obnoxious , irritating and dumb I'm being. Oh and I also have answer for everything. So i would like to science please.

That being said I know some people with professional qualifications (nurses/doctors) who started out teaching clinical skills and then progressed by teaching and doing a phd at the same time to tenured posts. They all did do PhDs though.

anyway this thread amused me. I am interested in keeping it going. Kind of makes me feel like maybe I have a chance in academia (if I ever finish the write up!!!). needed that today, as I was mulling over my not so stellar cv.

Just goes to show how different people read things differently - nothing about this poster's post irks me in the slightest! But then I do know several in our department without a PhD, including the director of undergraduate studies!

That poster came on here in good faith and IMO handled themselves reasonably and has been left in no doubt about how difficult it will be to pursue an academic career without a PhD.
I'm not exactly sure there is much to be gained by being smug and I'm not exactly sure why this has angered you so much.

The poster didn't give that impression to me at all. I don't recall the word superstar being used, directly, indirectly or implied in reference to herself. Nor did I see any claim to be "better" than PhD students.

In my opinion this poster touched a nerve because so many of us are scared witless about our own careers and it would be nice if people were honest about this fact that the angry responses were nothing to do with the original poster and everything to do with the responders state of mind.

Nothing the original poster said bothered me in the slightest and nor should it. Nothing she did or said will have any impact on me or anyone else on here.

Some of the responses to her were pretty crass and immature.

[/quote] Nothing the original poster said bothered me in the slightest and nor should it. Nothing she did or said will have any impact on me or anyone else on here.

Some of the responses to her were pretty crass and immature.[/quote]

1) I don't think its your place to tell someone how they 'should' react. Your not a moral authority on people's reaction or opinions.

2) it didn't anger me... I thought the thread was amusing.

2) while I found it funny, it did, I will admit, irk me somewhat, not for the reasons you cite, but for professional reasons. Sort of like if someone wanted to be a doctor without the hassle of going to medical school. or how irked I am by people with fake internet PhDs or who simply lie about having having a Phd...

that being said, I do regret my former post, mainly because it was a bit mean. I was hoping since it was started 2 years ago, the poster would not be on the forum. i suppose, in hindsight, ridiculing someone on the net isn't entirely fair...you never know what there going through when they read the post. if I could delete my original post I would

also all that being said, I know of people, with Msc's who managed to get in through part time teaching or admin work and then progressed to a do PhD while still doing admin work/ teaching. So they were in paid employment while doing their PhD's so it was less of financial burden, but also a lot more work.

and it was a lot to do with knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time.

Nothing the original poster said bothered me in the slightest and nor should it. Nothing she did or said will have any impact on me or anyone else on here.

Some of the responses to her were pretty crass and immature.[/quote]

1) I don't think its your place to tell someone how they 'should' react. Your not a moral authority on people's reaction or opinions.

2) it didn't anger me... I thought the thread was amusing.

2) while I found it funny, it did, I will admit, irk me somewhat, not for the reasons you cite, but for professional reasons. Sort of like if someone wanted to be a doctor without the hassle of going to medical school. or how irked I am by people with fake internet PhDs or who simply lie about having having a Phd...

that being said, I do regret my former post, mainly because it was a bit mean. I was hoping since it was started 2 years ago, the poster would not be on the forum. i suppose, in hindsight, ridiculing someone on the net isn't entirely fair...you never know what there going through when they read the post. if I could delete my original post I would

also all that being said, I know of people, with Msc's who managed to get in through part time teaching or admin work and then progressed to a do PhD while still doing admin work/ teaching. So they were in paid employment while doing their PhD's so it was less of financial burden, but also a lot more work.

and it was a lot to do with knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time.[/quote]

That is the second time on this thread that you have deliberately misrepresented what somebody has posted. Firstly the original poster and now me. Nice work.