4 ms·

Do all professors become employed by the government then?

by SEJeff 12y ago

krylon 12y ago
In Germany (where I live, I am not sure how it works in other countries), that is how it works. There are some private universities, but not many (and they tend to focus on "cheap" subjects in the sense of "cheap to provide training" - training a medical doctor or a chemist apparently is far more expensive than training an MBA) - Professors teaching at private universities, are, of course, employed by those universities. If you want to work in academia, you will have to jump through lots of hoops, usually going from one temporary contract to another until you get tenure. But all along the way, you are technically employed by the government (more strictly, Professors are employed by the state government, not by the federal government, because education is the domain of the federal states. (Even more strictly speaking there are a few universities that are run by the military for educating their officers - those belong to the federal department of "defense", and the professors teaching there are employees of the federal government.)
- SEJeff 12y ago
  Wow totally jealous. I'm of German descent (last name: Schroeder, 3rd generation in the US), but we have it very bad in comparison. We have these parasitic institutions called "for profit" colleges that are typical capitalist greed. Their goal is to extract as much money out of students who can't do math so well and end up with unbelievably large loans. Most state ran colleges are respectable, but the most all of the best colleges in America are private or private "Ivy League" colleges. Becoming a professor requires a PHD and many years to attain tenure. I simply don't think the pay is competitive for public colleges vs private "for profit" colleges that are money making machines. Most of the best professors work for places you've likely heard of like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. None of those are state colleges. That being said, some state colleges are wonderful (USC is a great example). It is just different, and unfortunately a lot less of a possibility for much of America's working class. US primary and secondary schools are mandatory and free, but college/university (no differentiation in the US) are becoming prohibitively expensive for all of the lower class and much of the middle class. It is bad. The US has a few military colleges such as westpoint and the US Army War College, but those are only open to soldiers and officers, so are a different thing altogether. Note that I work in technology and didn't go to college. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because after 4 years of military service, I was able to trivially get a job in technology. I get paid to write code.

Do all professors become employed by the government then?

by SEJeff 12y ago

Do all professors become employed by the government then?

In Germany (where I live, I am not sure how it works in other countries), that is how it works. There are some private universities, but not many (and they tend to focus on "cheap" subjects in the sense of "cheap to provide training" - training a medical doctor or a chemist apparently is far more expensive than training an MBA) - Professors teaching at private universities, are, of course, employed by those universities. If you want to work in academia, you will have to jump through lots of hoops, usually going from one temporary contract to another until you get tenure. But all along the way, you are technically employed by the government (more strictly, Professors are employed by the state government, not by the federal government, because education is the domain of the federal states. (Even more strictly speaking there are a few universities that are run by the military for educating their officers - those belong to the federal department of "defense", and the professors teaching there are employees of the federal government.)

SEJeff 12y ago
Wow totally jealous. I'm of German descent (last name: Schroeder, 3rd generation in the US), but we have it very bad in comparison. We have these parasitic institutions called "for profit" colleges that are typical capitalist greed. Their goal is to extract as much money out of students who can't do math so well and end up with unbelievably large loans. Most state ran colleges are respectable, but the most all of the best colleges in America are private or private "Ivy League" colleges. Becoming a professor requires a PHD and many years to attain tenure. I simply don't think the pay is competitive for public colleges vs private "for profit" colleges that are money making machines. Most of the best professors work for places you've likely heard of like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. None of those are state colleges. That being said, some state colleges are wonderful (USC is a great example). It is just different, and unfortunately a lot less of a possibility for much of America's working class. US primary and secondary schools are mandatory and free, but college/university (no differentiation in the US) are becoming prohibitively expensive for all of the lower class and much of the middle class. It is bad. The US has a few military colleges such as westpoint and the US Army War College, but those are only open to soldiers and officers, so are a different thing altogether. Note that I work in technology and didn't go to college. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because after 4 years of military service, I was able to trivially get a job in technology. I get paid to write code.