Jane AdamsHeard a senior academic recently say, in regards to not being able to afford talent for intern positions, that "Grad students these days have different standards. When I was in grad school, I had roommates and ate ramen". To be crystal clear: renting a room in a house *with 5 roommates* in Boston costs $1,000/month, not including utilities. $15/hr before taxes means 70+ hours of work *just to pay rent*.
This obviously is not relegated to grad students. Data show that across the country, the number of hours worked in order to afford median #rent has skyrocketed. It's no wonder that #unionization is on the rise. We're in an acute #CostofLiving crisis, and having a boat does not preclude you from also having compassion.
Joseph Kohlmann@janeadams So insulting that some of the more powerful people in academia really do not understand the razor’s edge of poverty here
Sam L.@jkohlmann @janeadams I don't get the impression that many academics are very aware of things outside their disciplines; having quit academia in a huff myself, one of the big things that lead to my exit was the fact that even profs who want to help often have very little clue about how to do that. IMO grad school and postdocs select for people who are single-minded enough to ignore the abuse and managerial ineptitude endemic to academia.
Tical91@jkohlmann @janeadams They are paid not to. Acknowledging that would undermine their paychecks and the people who sign them. Quick way to find yourself out of academia because it is essentially a buisness.
Siobhán McElduff@janeadams I always like the complaints about them having phones that are too nice.
PB Livin'@janeadams There's a serious disconnect for anyone who owns a home and hasn't experienced the increase in rent in their own lives. Just complete obliviousness.
Heather@wh0sthatd0g @janeadams
I have rented various apts and homes for the last 30 years because of my fear of commitment (and lack of disposable income for a down payment). When I started college 30 years ago, I had 4 roommates and we paid $800/month (total) in rent for a 3 BR house. 15 years ago, I paid $950 a month in rent for a 3 BR house. Now we can't find a 3 BR house for less than like $2,400/month. (And we live in a supposedly "cheap" area of the country. Meanwhile, min wage is still the same as it was 15 years ago.)
If folks haven't had to move in the last three years, they absolutely do not know what they are talking about. Cost of living was already rising more quickly than wages, but the influx of cash into our economy during the pandemic completely fucked the housing/rental market for us normies. Rich folks decided that real estate was one of the safest investments, so they bought up every "asset" they could find.
@wh0sthatd0g @janeadams
I guess I should also mention that 15 years ago I was a GA in my masters program making $15/hr. Today I am a GA in my PhD program making.... $15/hr. Wages have not kept up with increases in the cost of living.
I guess I should also mention that 15 years ago I was a GA in my masters program making $15/hr. Today I am a GA in my PhD program making.... $15/hr. Wages have not kept up with increases in the cost of living.
Feznander@janeadams One aspect I've noticed: grad-school shoestring living looks real different in light of reduced job prospects for PhDs and longer timelines even for those who do land permanent jobs. For earlier students, a period of genteel poverty on the road to a secure, respected, well-paid career could be a youthful rite of passage that you'd look back on with nostalgia. For current students, it's the beginning of a grind of low pay and precarity likely to last into middle age if not forever.
jz.tuskYep, was going to make this point but you already did.
Flat Pluto Society@janeadams A few years ago, I was in Boston for work, and chatting with a couple in their early 30s at a bar. They were planning on moving out of the city because they wanted to have a kid and couldn't afford to do that anywhere in the city. They were both dentists. They were by any measure an affluent couple, and still couldn't afford Boston with a kid. Bonkers.
Scott Knowles@janeadams As grad student in mid-1970's I was married, had GI Bill, worked 20 hours a week, was paid reseach/teaching assistant with one class, did field research with professor, and still had full class load and thesis research. Those were the times Vietnam War veterans lived. And it was still age of great rock and roll before disco bludgeoned it with disco halls and John Travolta movies.