Buddy, can you spare a pipette?
I read a somewhat depressing article in the Independent yesterday about the upcoming strike action by AUT members over pay. It reported that 2,000 teaching and research staff are leaving UK Universities every year because of the poor salary levels compared to those in other countries (particularly the US, where salaries are about 50% higher).
Most people donât go in to academia for the money (fools!); they love the job and accept job satisfaction and slightly more freedom to do what they find most interesting, in exchange for lower pay. But now that occupational stress is increasing (relentless budget cuts, fewer staff expected to cover the teaching load of those who have left, cuts in grant funding), and house prices are soaring, people are beginning to question whether the rather dubious benefits are worth the sacrifice. Certainly, if you are supporting a family, it becomes hard to justify.
The article gave a case study of a molecular biologist who left an academic job to become a gas fitter. He went from earning £100 a day to £65 for less than an hour of work. It sounds mad, but after reading the article, I was starting to think that perhaps I should consider training as a plumber or electrician. Quite apart from the better pay, you would actually get some respect and appreciation for your work.
This is at the heart of the problemâI may be horribly cynical, but I doubt that the AUTâs strike will have any effect at all. Politicians donât sanction pay rises (other than their own) unless they think that by not doing so they will lose votes. The general public can see the direct benefit of the work of nurses, fire-fighters, refuse collectors or school teachers, but they donât see how University staff benefit their lives. Some of those who have children at University probably donât even make the link between academics and the education that their little treasures are getting. People just donât see how academics impact on their lives, because it isnât a direct link.
I love my job, but itâs getting harder and harder to do with the resources we have, and for the first time since I was a teenager, Iâm thinking about what else I might do for employment. Any ideas, anyone?
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That's it, I'm leaving! Yet another angle on the European brain drain. but she�s a girl� is writes: Buddy, can you spare a pipette? I read a somewhat depressing article in the Independent yesterday about the upcoming strike action by AUT members over...
by Helga @ 22/02/2004 10:02 pm • Permalink •
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This is something that I grapple with a lot, especially as I am just trying to buy an apartment. My salary here in Sweden is okay, but no more than a high school teachers. It's hard to compete for flats when you're trying to buy on one salary.
I've got to the stage where I think about copywriting or journalism as a distinct possibility. Although I actually love teaching, encouraging people to explore what they can achieve through Creative Writing, the 8 courses I teach a term drain me. That's probably an understatement. Often I am scheduled to start early in the morning and finish gone 1800 (if not 20:00). Then I get to take home 100 papers to read and comment on far too regularly. I have to work evenings and weekends to keep up with everything. (Hey, guess where I am now on a Sunday afternoon!) Having seen colleagues burn out far too regularly, I am doing my best to not overdo it. But it's hard. Just to keep your heard above the water you have to work continually. And as for research time. I think that's June.
I guess what I am trying to say is that if I'd known it would be like this, I may well have had second thoughts about this career. As I am still 33, turning 34 next month, maybe I still have it in me to change direction. I am severely tempted!----- It seems blindingly obvious to me that if you need another source of income you should try to turn your writing skills into an enormous wodge of cold hard cash! This blog is a good portfolio of your skills as well as a whetstone for you to hone them on. Given your technical bent maybe you should take David Pogue as a model, there are not enough people like him who can write on technical matters simply, clearly, and entertainingly. You could.
If it comes off, I want my 10%!
by ThoughtBadger @ 22/02/2004 11:02 pm • Permalink •
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Have you ever considered technical writing? When I left university after a frustrating year of trying to get funding for my PhD, I got started in techical writing for a software company. That was three years ago, and I still love it. It is just a perfect combination of continuously learning about computers and software while using your language skills. You do not earn lots of money, but it certainly is much more than what you get at (German) universities at the moment.
by krisfich @ 23/02/2004 6:03 pm • Permalink •
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jb: I know exactly what you mean. Iâm the same age as you (to the month!) and thereâs certainly something in age making it harder to cope with these kinds of conditions. And a feeling that it wasnât supposed to be like this. Good luck, anyway, in whatever you decide to do.
ThoughtBadger: What an excellent idea! Iâve considered some kind of technical writing for a while, but for some reason, Iâd never thought about this blog as a portfolio. I enjoy writing it so much that Iâve never considered that there might be some connection with earning money, even if not directly. Thanks for the encouragement, as wellâitâs much needed at the moment. And youâll certainly get your 10%!
krisfich: Your comment is very encouraging too. Perhaps you wouldnât mind telling me how you got a foot in the door? My difficulty is that Iâm not sure how to go about convincing a software company (or whatever) that I have the requisite skills (other than pointing them here), without specific qualifications. If youâd rather not reply publicly, you could always email me.
by bsag @ 23/02/2004 7:03 pm • Permalink •
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bsag just point anyone who wants to know how well you can juggle words here. It shows not merely quality, but regular output too, so you could obviously handle deadlines, and have the self discipline necessary to accomplish any long term large writing tasks too. There is also almost no technical writing/journalism by a woman, which is a major USP for you, because do not forget that even if your readership might be predominantly male, there are quite a few of us that actually like women (especially if they can crack a geeky joke or two)!
..ummm.. P.S. If you are up with advertising jargon, USP means unique selling point.
by ThoughtBadger @ 23/02/2004 10:03 pm • Permalink •
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Jobs in technical writing vary a lot. To over-simplify, there's the one-off freelance approach, and the in-house permanent/resident approach. The difficulty with the first is the old experience/getting experience vicious circle (or is it catch-22?), with companies looking for experienced writers with knowledge of the subject matter but not employing the inexperienced. (So if you know, say, Oracle back to front, and have written about it at length, you might more easily get a job documenting some database system...) The in-house approach is good if you can get a placement, but vacancies often go either to less experienced graduates (who learn on the job), to newly qualified trainees with tech writing qualifications, or to experienced authors who've just been made redundant (which happens with tiresome regularity). In your shoes, I'd also think about journalism/tech support/programming, although it seems a waste to abandon the higher quest for knowledge in favour of mere quotidian wage-slavery. Better still, develop what some bloke whose name I forget (Charles Handy?) calls the portfolio lifestyle - lots of different irons in the fire. Sorry for waffle...
by pete @ 24/02/2004 9:02 am • Permalink •
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ThoughtBadger: Yes, the female geek angle had crossed my mind.
<cite>there are quite a few of us that actually like women (especially if they can crack a geeky joke or two)!</cite>
Hehe. Thank goodness for that!
pete: I hadnât imagined that I would stroll into a job, but almost anything seems easier to get into than academic jobs at the moment. It would be a shame if I leave academic work, but itâs more a case of it leaving me than vice versa. Itâs not as if I want to earn pots of money, but my current situation is this: Iâm applying for lots of academic positions, but so far, I havenât had even a hint of success. Iâm currently on a third of a salary until the end of June (when Iâll be on no salary), Mr. Bsag is in a low-paid part-time job, and the day is fast looming when we will no longer be able to pay the rent. So Iâm looking at anything that might be possible. Any glimmer of hope, yâknow
The âportfolio lifestyleâ sounds wonderful, but academic work doesnât leave a lot of time for developing anything elseâthere just isnât time! Anyway, thanks for ideas.
by bsag @ 24/02/2004 10:03 pm • Permalink •
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That's it, I'm leaving! Yet another angle on the European brain drain. but she�s a girl� writes: but she's a girl... :: Buddy, can you spare a pipette? I read a somewhat depressing article in the Independent yesterday about the upcoming strike action...
by Helga @ 26/02/2004 11:02 am • Permalink •
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You and I are facing the same situation, but with an ever-slight twist. My dream has been to teach. Through luck (or really, a little bit of stupidity that turned out for the better) I fell into a technical career before I had finished high school. I've since done quite well for myself.
You know those bumper stickers? The ones that say "I'd rather be fishing", or "I'd rather be golfing?"
I'd rather be teaching.
I've become used to my income in the technical field and for the life of me can't think of any possible way that I could become a teacher and still support my family. Even the initial step--going back to school--is near impossible without impacting the rest of my family.
I don't want to teach for the money, but the money is preventing me from teaching.
by Nathan Ladd @ 27/02/2004 12:03 am • Permalink •
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