3 ms·

The percentage decline in tenure track faculty might be fine. Straight-up instruction (non-tenure faculty) is also important; it provides employment for those w

The percentage decline in tenure track faculty might be fine. Straight-up instruction (non-tenure faculty) is also important; it provides employment for those who don't make tenure. Tenure level academia is demanding: a) Once you've made it, you have a solid reward: a sustainable lifestyle salary, freedom to work on what you wish, and, notoriety. b) To make it, you have to work insane hours for about a decade or more (PhD, post-doc, 5-years) -- where the first few years (5-8) pay very little, if anything. c) The odds of making it are against you -- many drop out in their PhD ("ABD"), fail to get post-doctorate work, fail to get a tenure track slot, or, fail to get tenure. The promise of tenure is the carrot that feeds expectations that can only be met by talent and hard work.

theorique 14y ago
The promise of tenure is the carrot that feeds expectations that can only be met by talent and hard work. ... and luck. Many talented and hard working people don't get tenure.
- CognitiveLens 14y ago
  This is deeply true, and one of the major underlying problems is that the shift toward non-tenure-track teaching positions is much more about cost cutting than it is about providing teaching opportunities to those who just weren't talented or hard-working enough to make tenure. It's a racket.
  - pasbesoin 14y ago
    It's not just tenure, it's benefits. Many institutions are keeping junior staff part-time. Not only is the pay worse; you get no benefits. This is not a recipe for social stability, e.g. enabling staff to raise families, etc. When the system goes this far, I'm sorry, but I have no other word for it than "exploitative". (This is without delving into the topic of student debt, etc.) P.S. And many people spend an inordinate amount of time commuting between multiple part-time instruction gigs.
tom_b 14y ago
Tenure is often not a prize that offers the solid reward you mention. In many departments, even tenured professors must receive grant awards equivalent to large percentages (or even exceeding) their salary. So, your freedom to pursue what you wish holds only when what you wish to work on is funded. I completely agree that the odds are low for most people pursuing PhDs obtaining a tenure track position. I'm somewhat hopeful that PhD study will become a sane and respectable choice for people who don't have a tenure track career goal in mind. But for this to happen, the nature of PhD study needs to embrace the idea of a "terminal" PhD. And in all honesty, I suspect that a terminal MS with an appropriate thesis tacked on is more than sufficient to satisfy that itch.

theorique 14y ago

The promise of tenure is the carrot that feeds expectations that can only be met by talent and hard work. ... and luck. Many talented and hard working people don't get tenure.

CognitiveLens 14y ago
This is deeply true, and one of the major underlying problems is that the shift toward non-tenure-track teaching positions is much more about cost cutting than it is about providing teaching opportunities to those who just weren't talented or hard-working enough to make tenure. It's a racket.
- pasbesoin 14y ago
  It's not just tenure, it's benefits. Many institutions are keeping junior staff part-time. Not only is the pay worse; you get no benefits. This is not a recipe for social stability, e.g. enabling staff to raise families, etc. When the system goes this far, I'm sorry, but I have no other word for it than "exploitative". (This is without delving into the topic of student debt, etc.) P.S. And many people spend an inordinate amount of time commuting between multiple part-time instruction gigs.

tom_b 14y ago

Tenure is often not a prize that offers the solid reward you mention. In many departments, even tenured professors must receive grant awards equivalent to large percentages (or even exceeding) their salary. So, your freedom to pursue what you wish holds only when what you wish to work on is funded. I completely agree that the odds are low for most people pursuing PhDs obtaining a tenure track position. I'm somewhat hopeful that PhD study will become a sane and respectable choice for people who don't have a tenure track career goal in mind. But for this to happen, the nature of PhD study needs to embrace the idea of a "terminal" PhD. And in all honesty, I suspect that a terminal MS with an appropriate thesis tacked on is more than sufficient to satisfy that itch.