The Professor Is Out, a (pretty large) group on FB, has become a bit problematic for me. It started as a support network for people having bad experiences in academia and wanting to leave. Very soon it turned into a space where even saying certain things got your post declined, got you a stern talking-to from the mods, or got you banned. Those things included too-positive descriptions of positive academic environments (even in the context of wanting to leave academia), mention of the social justice and political implications of constant recommendations that academics flee to the corporate world and do UX forever, and (of course) criticism of any of the group's policies, whether implicit or overt.

In the past year the mods have started advertising their businesses, (a) a paid consultancy to help people transition out of academia, with individual coaching and paid webinars, and (b) a merch store.

I'd be more sad if this wasn't so predictable.

#highered #theprofessorisout #acadexit #leavingacademia #industry #ux #capitalism #unintendedConsequences