tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post4408693987134803744..comments2023-10-18T08:33:32.948-07:00Comments on Unemployed PhD for hire: A disturbing new job market trend...WTF have I done with my life?http://www.blogger.com/profile/12567458532188272050noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-25725598550778035332012-11-02T20:58:11.877-07:002012-11-02T20:58:11.877-07:00Wow! I had no idea the whole "teaching only&q...Wow! I had no idea the whole "teaching only" thing was so wide-spread. Well, if I'd stopped and pondered for a minute I would have realised that these things don't just happen spontaneously somewhere like Australia - there has to be an international push that starts any shifts in policy. But yes, teaching only positions have become much more ubiquitous, and in some instances, staff are being pushed into those roles when the university goes on a round of cost-cutting. I couldn't imagine anything more humiliating. WTF have I done with my life?https://www.blogger.com/profile/12567458532188272050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-560117939537550892012-10-28T19:37:19.660-07:002012-10-28T19:37:19.660-07:00The trend is the same in Canada. Unis started hiri...The trend is the same in Canada. Unis started hiring 'teaching only' positions about 5 years ago. This practice creates a two-tiered department: those who are 'only' teachers (6-7 courses/y), and those who are 'real' researchers (~2 courses/y). <br /><br />A recent book took the idea even further and suggested creating 'teaching universities', where faculty would teach 8 courses a year (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/time-to-consider-a-new-type-of-university.aspx). The authors feel the 40-40-20 model (research/teaching/service) is reducing the effectiveness of ugrad education. They must really believe that only 40% of our time is actually spent on teaching!<br /><br />Hydro Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10067556046839988891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-75453189572132466372012-10-22T06:24:41.042-07:002012-10-22T06:24:41.042-07:00VC salaries, oh dear yes. Since when were $2millio...VC salaries, oh dear yes. Since when were $2million salaries for VC's justified? What happened to universities being a place for researchers to do research, not admin? A place of learning instead of a profiteering enterprise?Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02576887486487102145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-74543516930510273242012-10-22T06:21:17.786-07:002012-10-22T06:21:17.786-07:00Hi WTF, at my physical sciences discipline, I beli...Hi WTF, at my physical sciences discipline, I believe the academic's administration workload is as high as 30%. Senior academics routinely deliver 70-80 hours total workload per week just to cover the three key performance indicators. <br /><br />The university, though receiving incredible value from their academics, was still not satisfied. Marking normally done by TA's was recently squeezed back into the academics' existing workload for no additional pay. Suddenly the hourly rate for stocking shelves in ALDI is looking really good!<br /><br />A similar kind of magical thinking is at play here:<br />"I get to be my own boss here." Really?<br />"I'm so passionate about research, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."<br />"In a week I spend 40 hours on teaching/admin, 5-10 hours writing grants and maybe 10 hours on actual research. BUT THE RESEARCH PART IS TOTALLY WORTH IT!"Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02576887486487102145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-8405206130178227292012-10-20T00:55:19.056-07:002012-10-20T00:55:19.056-07:00The further back you look (in the UK), the nastier...The further back you look (in the UK), the nastier it gets: the tutorial/teaching fellow positions only started to appear in 2006/7 after the big influx of an extra £3 million pounds plus into the sector, which partly went to improve staff salaries but mainly to double and triple VC's salaries. Tutorial/teaching fellow positions were invented at that time as a way of getting temporary cover of teaching at a lower rate, lower than the permanent teaching + research staff who'd just had pay rises, that is.<br /><br />There are also rumors of long-term, permanent staff being forced onto teaching-only contracts because their research isn't seen to be good enough or there isn't enough of it. I've not seen this happen formally, though it's common practice to dish out more teaching to those seen to be less productive research-wise. Both are even more cruel than the tutorial/teaching fellows, I think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373509892682604492.post-62264602006309116982012-10-19T07:29:52.950-07:002012-10-19T07:29:52.950-07:00It's the same in the UK - we have the accursed...It's the same in the UK - we have the accursed 'Tutorial/Teaching Fellows' which are popping up everywhere, short-term appointments with enormous teaching loads and no research time at all built in. Vile stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com