Thorbjörn Sievert

It's only shortly past 8 in the morning, but I need to #vent.
I just overheard a new #tenure track assistant #professor talk about how they got there.
In a nutshell, they haven't left the department since their master studies and stumbled into the tenure process by accident.

I am (kinda) happy for them, but I am also so incredibly fucking jealous!

I have switched not only university but country after every degree/job, so by now I live in country number 5 since starting by studies.
The longest I've been in the same country was during my #PhD plus pandemic and unemployment for over a year.

Especially older #academics don't seem to understand this, because whenever I mention any of this I encounter completely blank stares. Note, I'm in a department where most senior staff is local and celebrating 15-35+ years at the same employer.

I'm in my mid-30, I don't want to move every few years when my temporary contract ends.
I want to be able to plan more than 1-2 years at a time.

I absolutely love doing #research, but I hate so many aspects of #academic culture or what has been normalized over the years for #AcademicLife.
I plan on staying in #academia despite of it.

#Rant over, time to calm down and sip my tea.

#PostDocLife #PhDLife #academicchatter #MyLifeAsAnAcademic #AcademicMastodon #tenuretrack

Nov 7 at 7:44amWeb
Show threadAnders LagerfjärdNov 7
@volephd It's crazy that's how it is. Hardly the best environment to bring out the best in research. You need to not only be skilled and hard working, you need to essentially dedicate your whole life to your work. One of the reasons I moved on to a tech job.
Show threadMathias MicheelNov 7
@volephd In the old (like 50+) generation, I often see stuff like: study in city A, 1 year postdoc, return to city A, then professor in A. Then they preach about mobility, etc, blabla. I know so many young academics with CVs where they have to move cities every two years (similar to you), but every so often, I also see people who could return to their PhD lab for a postdoc and then get tenure track there.
Show threadMathias MicheelNov 7
@volephd I mean, good for them, but it's really disheartening. (I closed the chapter on an academic career a while ago lol)
Show threadMathias MicheelNov 7
@volephd also, academia is probably the only career where people expect you to be mobile every two years or so, whereas I would think in industry, they think something is wrong with you if you have to change employers so often lol
Show threadMCDuncanLabNov 10

@volephd

One of my former colleagues had his first academic position at EMBL which stipulated that he HAD to leave at like year 5 or maybe a bit more. Upon hearing that I spontaneously uttered 'That's inhumane', and it is truly inhumane. It is treating scientists like research production units, not humans who want to make lasting bonds with a community of neighbors and work colleagues, who might have kids that they know they will have to uproot in a few years.

Show threadMCDuncanLabNov 10

@volephd

When you do a PhD or a postdoc there is always a *chance* you can stay on, its rare, but to have a position where you *must* leave is just inhumane.

Show threadOliver BrendelNov 10

@volephd Well, I'm in the 50+category, and I have only done 3 countries and was lucky enough that in the last,after 2 post-docs, I was able to get a permanent research position. Most people here in my generation only went abroad for a short post-doc,and then came back.

But staying in the same place all the time is not really good for broadening your science horizont

Show threadSusan LNov 11

@volephd Yeah, this so disheartening (good for them, but...).
At uni I was told that you had to do the PhD abroad and then there would be jobs back in NL. Those jobs simply do not exist, or go to internal candidates who mostly did not leave.

Now, in my current department people just seem to stay forever. And the fact that someone who took 10 years to complete their PhD and then just stayed put without going for a postdoc will probably complete their habilitation before me... and that they do not realize that this is not really the usual way anywhere else... that's just annoying as hell.

I'm quite happy where I am right now, but I did not fully get there by choice, or because I truly wanted to move to a different country again. I just wanted to stay in science and for that I needed a job.