W.S. Cross of Beyond You and Me fame just reminded me of the best advice possible for a grad student. As my dissertation advisor once said to me:
Being an academic is a Bohemian lifestyle. It is not a bourgeois lifestyle.
By which she meant that you will never get rich in academia. Never, never, fucking never. Okay? Maybe one in a billion becomes a well-fed prof like Stanley Fish or whoever. But, most of us struggle all the way through grad school and then struggle for years to get tenure. And quite a few will never make tenure. Moreover, if you're in grad school, you will make about $16,000 on the high end of the pay scale. Expect to spend six years eating ramen noodles, or marry a rich person. But, don't expect to make a fortune.
So, why do it? Well, if you love reading books all day, here is a job in which you can put that to very good use. And, if you're doing what you love, you will do it well. Believe me, that in itself makes the job worthwhile.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
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1 comment:
"Beyond You & Me fame"? Your mouth to God's ear!
Sage advice, and it needs to be said. Often the desire to extend schooling trumps the instincts of self-preservation.
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