Stories from academia

Academia is awful, kill yourself.

I saw a guy at a party this weekend, he was 30+, still a postdoc and spent his days working and drinking beer.
I just realized this could very well be me in a few years and it really scared me.
Not that I would mind spending my days working and drinking beer so much but the mere idea of being content with being a postdoc at 31 seems really sad

>>7791763
How do you get that bad off?

>>7793724
Well I mean it doesn't seem that unlikely, the guy probably wrapped up his thesis at 26/27 and this might be his second postdoc (I think many grants last 2-3 years). I had not really thought about it but it probably happens to many academiafags

>>7793764
Yeah that's very common today. Very few phds go straight into a tenure track job. I think getting tenure around 40 is typical. Yes academia is a grind, and yes I'm a postdoc.

I had very little taste of academia. It's seems to me one giant institutionalized circle jerking. How accurate is this?

>>7793769
>I'm a postdoc

How much are you paid?

>>7793799
Not nearly enough. Nih and nsf have pay guidelines that universities follow, with automatic raises every year.

Academia hoe here, accepted to Carleton for poli sci.

>>7793833
>automatic raises every year

That is nice. So as long as you hold on to academia you will be climbing in some way or another.

As long as the initial pay is not that much below what people make in industry as bachelors then I would say it is okay.

>>7793841
Is it true that women in academia suck dick to get tenure?

>>7793847
Initial pay is not good. NIH guidelines for salary for a postdoc year 0-7 is pitiful

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/research/funding/general/nrsa-fund-guide

>>7793882
that looks ok t.b.h f.a.m. I wouldn't think you need much money when your main priority should be doing math

unless you got a wife this early on, in which case gg

>>7793882
>42k starting

That is 2k more than the average biology major.

>Pay ceiling 56k
Now this is not good. But I guess that after 7 years you should already be a teaching assistant or full time professor.

>>7793909
>gg

>Get married to a PhD
>Both earning around 50k

6 figures starting. Now all you have to do is to convince your wife to starve to death and feed only on your cum.

>>7793909
Underage b& detected.

Do you plan to ever retire? You sure as hell won't be doing it anytime soon on $50k a year. God help you if you have a medical or other family emergency.

>>7793882
Wait. Isn't 40k - 60k the usual salary of high school teachers?

>>7793946
HS teachers get pensions. These jobs don't.

>>7793945
>retire with $50k a year

a postdoc is not a terminal job. you're NOT supposed to remain a postdoc forever, you stay in it for several years until you're either ready to purse your tenure track job or you sadly drop academia

this is a starting job for someone in academia, and staying in it for 5+ years is a worst-case scenario

>>7793948
why would you want a pension for a starting, non-terminal job that's supposed to last for a few years?

>>7793952
>>7793955
ITT we have Ph.D wannabes who don't understand "time value of money. *facepalm*

The salary is indeed pitiful.

>>7793955
The small salary would be okay if the answer the following question is yes:

Do you get housing provided by the university?

>>7793961
>"time value of money"

what about the time value of time, faggot? leave it to an engineer/economist/whatever-the-fuck-you-are to place more importance on the wage than the actual job itself. if someone's going to academia it's because they want to do research. the money's ok so you can live while you do it. "time value of money", holy shit, way to bring a shitty meme into an unrelated field.

if all you want is money, what the fuck are you even doing posting in a thread related to academia? there are great ways to make money that don't need you to be smart. academia is NOT for making money.

>>7793977
>there is a fundamental opposition between wanting to do research and wanting to live comfortably
Yes, it is a great job and, yes, it is amazing that it is even a job, that you can actually get paid to sit around doing math/shitposting all day *but* that should not stop people doing that job from wanting more out of life than renting a one-room apartment and eating ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Of course, I'm exaggerating but I feel like many people act like it is dirty to want to have stability and financial comfort after having worked so hard (and still working so hard). Sure, it should not be your main motivation but still.

>>7793789
Anyone?

>>7793853
It's be funny if true, and it does sound believable.