Hi folks,

One of the recurring minor themes that pops up in many different threads, in a variety of ways, is the 'why am I doing this-especially if finding Uni level research and academic posts are so hard- and should I look for work outside Uni or government research bodys. (Closely linked to 'why the hell am I doing this at all-when things really look bleak).

Okay, aside from the really fair arguments about receiving decent financial compensation for year's of poorly paid or unpaid 'grind' and goals of being a 'lecturer' etc, there are lots of other complicating factors-as you would all know.

One thing I've noticed that really bugs me (coming from the fairly well-paid private school sector) is that while you might get paid really well outside of universities, intellectual freedom and also the recognition doesn't always come from these other sectors. So while you do get paid, you can have your mortgage and a nice car, etc, etc-your work and your contribution can just be swallowed up in the institutions' general output and almost overlooked.

For example, my research (social science-education) is on a completely different topic, but after transcribing one participant's interview-it has made me really aware of this issue. Not that its the main topic ofmy study-(it isn't) its just come up incidentally in the conversation-but without going into detail and breaching privacy- this participant has completed some outstanding work and is certainly appreciated in the role given within the College. Yet the work this participant has done-is just swallowed up in the institutions' general life. When acknowledged- it becomes part of the propaganda machine-that's why this insititution is so good- our staff are great-etc, etc. I can't help but wonder whether this is a real sadness for the participant and am a bit annoyed on their behalf. But they are paid well and can continue to pursue their personal goals for excellence, etc, while they undertake their role at the institution.

I know that if this participant were employed in and working at a University, that what they are doing would receive far more acknowledgement, publicity and extension-but probably they would not have the same full-time, continuous, well paid employment. Its a real tension. Personally I wish the employer were not so insular and self-congratulatory at times and took their outstanding employees less for granted-but that's wishing for the moon! Anyway-not sure how interested anyone is-but if you are in the 'why am I doing this' mood at present and money and permanent employment look pretty tempting-not to say don't consider this-but perhaps, remember that when you take this option you do make sacrifices in other ways.

I think you make some really valid points in your excellent post, pjlu. There was a time when I would have agreed very strongly with what you say. I think one is in a very privileged position if they can pursue a career that involves intellectual freedom and recognition for their work. But, maybe because I'm getting old and bitter, I don't think that the life of an academic can be like that any more, not with (sorry to sound simplistic) all the changes that are taking place.
How naive of me now, but I started my PhD because I really believed that with more qualifications, I could earn more money and hopefully a better lifestyle. I come from a very poor background but my uncle did a PhD many years ago, started out in academia and has gone on on to develop a very lucrative career. I thought I could have some of that if I did the same. And now I get told by everyone I meet 'oh, you'll never be wealthy as a researcher' and so on. Truth is, I don't want to be wealthy, but I want to enjoy my career and not always have to worry about money like I do now. I'd eventually like my own car and my own place. I honestly don't think I'll be able to do that with academia. I have this horrible notion of lots of post-docs and short term contracts in many different places, never being able to just settle down. So I feel that, however exciting it may be to be creative, inventive, add to human knowledge in my own little way and be recognised for it (sorry if that sounds a bit self-important), I'm not doing it if I have to live in Glasgow for 2 years, then Slough for a further 3 and so on.
I enjoy teaching and I enjoy (a lot of the time) my research, but I'll be certain to see if I can get anywhere within the private sector when I eventually graduate. As much as I'll feel like I'm selling the skills I have and won't get to publish, at least I'll hopefully have a secure job with a good income. I feel a bit sorry about it all, but I really can't be doing with wondering whether I'll have a job from one year to the next.
:-)

Having moved around a lot as a child and teenager (father choose a career that required moving a lot and long hours for little fiscal reward, though with an excellent pension - which I fear I will never have, but I digress) and seen the effect that had on my parents happiness (and my own as a child) I am loathe to be fully mobile as an academic. It is no fun being an adult at 40 or 50 with a few friends scattered across the country who it has been hard to stay in contact with and no close friends in the city. Nor is it fun as a child to have to switch schools and locales every 3-4 years.

This can of course have its upsides, being in different cities for various degrees can be exciting and you get to see the world. I loved being able to live abroad and learn a new language with a fellowship for the last part of my PhD. But, I realised that the isolation from friends and partner made it difficult for me to imagine hopping between short term fellowships. I also noted that a lot of the international staff there that had gone their chasing jobs had made big sacrifices to be there: living 4,000 miles from partners and children - and I have never seen so lonely a bunch of people.

Far enough if this dsplacement was for long periods of time - one can settle in and get a house and make friends - but, no, contracts are so short term that I can well imagine spending 6 months in Slough, a year in Milton Keynes, six months unemployed, a year in Newcastle, a year searching for jobs, a year in Dorset, etc etc etc. This would send me insane. I want to be surrounded by friends and live in the same city as my boyfriend - but I know how unrealistic this is if I pursue an academic career. If there was the actual prospect of a long term job in a single city at the end it would be a more attractive thing (city hopping) because one would know it would be only temporary. But in this market I could imagine sacrificing everything for a few short term contracts and ending nowhere. The thing that puts me off really is the realisation that I could probably imagine city hopping in the UK since it is not impossible to remain in contact and see people often - and a long distance in the UK is not a major problem if it has a "end date" - BUT my field is so small that it requires international mobility.

Provided I pass my phd (please, please!) I have a period of temporary university teaching for the academic year 2010/11 in the same institution I am at now. I need this geographic stability for a bit. But it won't be financial stability really. I want to try and publish as much as I can now, I think I have another 1 paper and a book chapter left in me - "my contribution to knowledge" (vanity, I know!) and then I might think about something which is a bit more stable and long term.

I do know a lot of people in my field that work in the private sector but keep publishing work so they have the option of moving in between. They also guest lecture on courses giving 'from the field' interpretations of subjects. However, I know these are VERY ambitious people who do all this in their spare time. I am not like that!

As you may see from other posts research in organisations is very difficult and you can be pulled into the propaganda machine. This is why research from organisations is often sniffed at, so although you can publish work, the methodology is often less rigorous than academic approaches, and there are many confounding variables - chiefly "make us look good".

Understood Walmiski.
Having undergone financial difficulties up until the last decade really, I know that I can't go back either. And it really has only been this year that I actually feel financially comfortable, for example, when I am not budgeting everything-mainly as children are grown and sort of independent (they keep coming back for money or home comforts) but I don't mind.

I guess I was just thinking of the fact that it seems that the private sector is just as good-and of course-for real jobs with real money and some career prospects- it probably is. But you are really becoming a professional rather than an academic or researcher (or whatever-there really should be a more appropriate term). And personally I don't mind but I guess you need to go in it with your eyes open. Cheers Wal, hope it goes well.

The choices really put many between the proverbial 'rock and hard' place don't they? When academia works, it works so well! Thinking of Wal's uncle, who was a living example of a form of British dream (as opposed to the American), its easy to see why you would make those choices. Even the nomadic lifestyle, as Chris (was going to write your full name but forgot the full spelling) pointed out, has its romantic aspect.

My own recent partner (now ex partner, we broke up 5 months ago-non live in, so no support whatever with kids and other life difficulties-which is why I claim single parent status still)....was in his field an outstanding writer and a really good lecturer (field was quite narrow-so academic fame can be really unknown outside-it's strange). When we met, he was at his peak but due to huge cutbacks and university traumas he and many others lost their jobs and were offered a redundancy package about 18 months afterwards-the financial package was okay-and given his background and frugal ways, he managed it really well. But the psychological blow really took its toll and he remained bitter against universities for many years afterwards and after a short time spent on a two year contract, took early retirement. I spent 13 years as his partner and supported him emotionally through a lot of this-it was tough for him. It wasn't the reason we broke up, that had a lot more to do with other aspects of our relationship and the way we both changed and developed, but it showed me early on, no matter how good you were, you needed to be really independent-in that your self esteem and self image could not be solely defined by your work (at uni or at any other institution).

Where this is all leading...I have no idea...I think I've lost the plot and am avoiding beginning another transcription. I guess the reality is though that you make your choices with open eyes, knowing that you will sacrifice some aspect of something whichever pathway you take. You just have to make these sorts of choices based on what you really 'must have' and what you can regretfully forgo, or obtain in a lesser fashion, as Sneaks has pointed out, somewhere else.

I(mince)-who knows why I put that there! But I think we need some more emoticons. Cheers folks