> But why does he need students to do his own research? What a... weird way to phrase this. "Need"? All the faculty I've worked with have wanted students to w

> But why does he need students to do his own research? What a... weird way to phrase this. "Need"? All the faculty I've worked with have wanted students to work with them. Science is frequently a collaborative effort, and having more than one person working on a project is often a good way to make the project better. They generally do not see students as a burden, but as an investment into the future of the field (and their own success, of course, but in a collaborative sense). It's fine if you decided academia wasn't for you, and I don't doubt even a little bit that people do exist who see students as a burden to be dealt with. But my own experience has been vastly different from that, so it strikes me as odd that you simply assumed a cynical stance off the bat. Anyway, your general stance seems very cynical. I like doing my own work, but I also like collaborating with people, and I know I'm not alone in that.