3 ms·

She was 80. For a woman born around 1930, getting a job as a French teacher was more than she'd be expected to do. Her circumstances have more to do with the US

by wisty 13y ago

She was 80. For a woman born around 1930, getting a job as a French teacher was more than she'd be expected to do. Her circumstances have more to do with the US social safety net than her planning a poor career. But it does highlight the fact that working in academia can be a worse career than working in retail.

rorrr2 13y ago
US has social safety nets, she just didn't bother to use them. She didn't bother to pay for health insurance. She didn't bother to finance her IRA/401k. She didn't bother to find a full time job with health insurance. > But it does highlight the fact that working in academia can be a worse career than working in retail. Working part time in either without paying for private health insurance will end up the same. And yes, being a teacher doesn't pay much, but she didn't bother to advance her career over what, 60 years? She basically did the same thing she liked day after day, and expected the society/country to take care of her needs. I agree that it would be nice to have a single payer healthcare system in the US, but that's not how it is.
jimhefferon 13y ago
> the fact that working in academia can be a worse career than working in retail I agree; it is exploitative. But why do people keep showing up to do it? For every person who quits finally there are another dozen lined up to take the job. Perhaps that may be a little exaggeration, and no doubt it varies by region and subject matter, but people doing adjunct work must be getting compensation that is not salary or else why are they doing it? (Maybe I should say that I work in higher ed; I've often been puzzled by people's motivations about this.)
- brazzy 13y ago
  > But why do people keep showing up to do it? Social status. Nobody gets looked down upon when they say that they're an adjunct professor at a university. And of course it's rewarding and stimulating work.

by wisty 13y ago

rorrr2 13y ago

US has social safety nets, she just didn't bother to use them. She didn't bother to pay for health insurance. She didn't bother to finance her IRA/401k. She didn't bother to find a full time job with health insurance. > But it does highlight the fact that working in academia can be a worse career than working in retail. Working part time in either without paying for private health insurance will end up the same. And yes, being a teacher doesn't pay much, but she didn't bother to advance her career over what, 60 years? She basically did the same thing she liked day after day, and expected the society/country to take care of her needs. I agree that it would be nice to have a single payer healthcare system in the US, but that's not how it is.

jimhefferon 13y ago

> the fact that working in academia can be a worse career than working in retail I agree; it is exploitative. But why do people keep showing up to do it? For every person who quits finally there are another dozen lined up to take the job. Perhaps that may be a little exaggeration, and no doubt it varies by region and subject matter, but people doing adjunct work must be getting compensation that is not salary or else why are they doing it? (Maybe I should say that I work in higher ed; I've often been puzzled by people's motivations about this.)

brazzy 13y ago
> But why do people keep showing up to do it? Social status. Nobody gets looked down upon when they say that they're an adjunct professor at a university. And of course it's rewarding and stimulating work.