3 ms·

3-5 year contracts are maybe better than employment at will for faculty but they are of a kind with deleveraging the profession vis a vis the institution. The i

by pnf 4y ago

3-5 year contracts are maybe better than employment at will for faculty but they are of a kind with deleveraging the profession vis a vis the institution. The institutional character has shifted to big-E Education. Like big-H Health it is a rationalization of the industry that disempowers the "productive" professionals in favor of the "managerial" professionals (administrators) who manage the economic relationships (means of production/distribution) of the whole shebang. Maybe the death of tenure will augur a new age of unionization for faculty (I have my doubts).

ModernMech 4y ago
Honestly I feel like it gives me more leverage. Every 3-5 years the administration has to be ready for me to walk, and they need to make competitive offers to keep me. These are not like tenured positions that only open up once a generation, so it's actually worthwhile to see what else is out there, so threats to leave for greener pastures are more credible.
- pnf 4y ago
  I wonder if it will really depend on market demand for your specialization. Free agent poetry profs may have to wait tables and go begging but STEM profs can write their own ticket? What kind of university does that create? I think it sounds better than it is. High-skill jobs always have some built-in leverage. Heck, this is HN. We all know this. But technics is not merely crystallized knowledge at a point in time. After a while, all but the top 20% are competing at a disadvantage. Factor in reach/amplification technologies and I wonder if the university's pursuit of market efficiencies isn't going to expose contract work as more precarious than not.
- smegger001 4y ago
  >Every 3-5 years the administration has to be ready for me to walk, and they need to make competitive offers to keep me. That is easy to say when you don't have family. Children don't do well being pulled out of school and moved to different school, they can suffer academically, emotionally and socially from having their lives disrupted. Then you have to consider your spouses career.

by pnf 4y ago

ModernMech 4y ago

Honestly I feel like it gives me more leverage. Every 3-5 years the administration has to be ready for me to walk, and they need to make competitive offers to keep me. These are not like tenured positions that only open up once a generation, so it's actually worthwhile to see what else is out there, so threats to leave for greener pastures are more credible.

pnf 4y ago
I wonder if it will really depend on market demand for your specialization. Free agent poetry profs may have to wait tables and go begging but STEM profs can write their own ticket? What kind of university does that create? I think it sounds better than it is. High-skill jobs always have some built-in leverage. Heck, this is HN. We all know this. But technics is not merely crystallized knowledge at a point in time. After a while, all but the top 20% are competing at a disadvantage. Factor in reach/amplification technologies and I wonder if the university's pursuit of market efficiencies isn't going to expose contract work as more precarious than not.
smegger001 4y ago
>Every 3-5 years the administration has to be ready for me to walk, and they need to make competitive offers to keep me. That is easy to say when you don't have family. Children don't do well being pulled out of school and moved to different school, they can suffer academically, emotionally and socially from having their lives disrupted. Then you have to consider your spouses career.