toldailytopic: Ideal employment. What would be your dream job?

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Alate_One

Alate_One

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Traditio said:
That's a terrible idea! It's called "tenure track," Squishes! :sozo2:
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Tenure track isn't all it's cracked up to be at some institutions . . . . you tick off the wrong people and no tenure for you!

Though I don't know how you do research without an institutional affiliation, at least the kind of research I'm familiar with . . . .
 
Traditio

Traditio

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Alate_One said:
Tenure track isn't all it's cracked up to be at some institutions . . . . you tick off the wrong people and no tenure for you!

Though I don't know how you do research without an institutional affiliation, at least the kind of research I'm familiar with . . . .
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That's pretty much what I was getting at. Squishes said that he wanted to do his own writing and research. That's what tenure's for. You kiss up and play the bureaucracy game for a while, and when you get tenure, then you do your own writing and research.
 
Squishes

Squishes

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Traditio said:
That's a terrible idea! It's called "tenure track," Squishes! :sozo2:
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I've had tenure for the past 4 semesters, and it's not something I would consider endgame. If you want to do philosophy, then do philosophy. If you want to make OK money without many teaching obligations, then try to get tenure.

Alate_One said:
Tenure track isn't all it's cracked up to be at some institutions . . . . you tick off the wrong people and no tenure for you!

Though I don't know how you do research without an institutional affiliation, at least the kind of research I'm familiar with . . . .
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I will still have some academic backing, but I will no longer be living off of it.

Traditio said:
That's pretty much what I was getting at. Squishes said that he wanted to do his own writing and research. That's what tenure's for. You kiss up and play the bureaucracy game for a while, and when you get tenure, then you do your own writing and research.
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Not really. If you get tenure (which is an insane goal for any prospective humanities student), then you get to try to get grants/sabbaticals/book deals. It takes a special kind of narcissist to wade through the academic world and get that job that only 1/10,000 professors end up getting. The academic philosopher has it about the worst, so far as I can tell:

*Fickle editors
*An obsession with hot topics (just try to get a paper published that isn't on meta-metaphysics or x-phi)
*A tiny circle of established professors literally deciding the fate of what will be talked about, who will get hired and what will be published
*A refusal to adopt new strategies for making philosophy a lively discipline that can survive outside of university subsidies; there is no reason for hard-copy journals over an open-access avenue since authors do not receive commission


I probably sound like one of the thousands of spurned academics lashing out after being turned down for a job they thought they deserved, but I say this after being a part of an excellent (top-40) department that gave me a 2/2 load with one graduate course a semester. It isn't worth it.

Traditio, I will not attempt to convince you to do something else with your life since my experiences have been incomparably rewarding. But note that your chances of having what I have are very low, and that a heavy teaching load of all undergraduate courses at a small university or community college is vastly more probable. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I'd suggest making other plans.
 
Alate_One

Alate_One

Well-known member
Squishes said:
I will still have some academic backing, but I will no longer be living off of it.
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I see.



Traditio, I will not attempt to convince you to do something else with your life since my experiences have been incomparably rewarding. But note that your chances of having what I have are very low, and that a heavy teaching load of all undergraduate courses at a small university or community college is vastly more probable. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I'd suggest making other plans.
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I am in the latter position of all undergraduate classes and a very heavy load (I teach 15 hrs a semester).

I'd be much happier with a lighter and more upper level or graduate courses and more research but I'm a relatively fresh PhD and it was difficult to find a permanent position at all at the time I was looking. I don't mind undergraduates but I do mind 1st semester undergraduates that haven't realized they don't actually belong/want to be in college.

There is no tenure available at my institution but they are generally hard pressed to fill their positions so unless you offend someone important or do something really stupid you're not likely to be let go.
But, we're allowed a lot of freedom and our classes are small. Plus I really like the people I work with. A community almost as interesting as ToL as a whole. :)

We may even have a philosophy opening sometime soon. ;)

However, if you're someone that can't handle dealing with ignorant and occasionally immature students, you may want to rethink . . . .
 
Squishes

Squishes

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AO, that sounds very reasonable. I absolutely love teaching. In fact, I think the best classes I've taught were cross-listed courses like Medical Ethics or classes in the Honors college. There is nothing better than teaching students how to think (rather than what to think) when it is clear they've never had that opportunity. And, to echo your point, smaller private colleges in the right area and with the right administrative structure can be a great experience, albeit one with little chance of doing research. But it is very hard to get into a department with research opportunities AND a positive academic environment. This may be a problem for the humanities more than the hard sciences, though; my time in various cognitive science departments has been a little different.

In other words, I love the students and I love the subject, but I have no patience for the red tape and the academic establishment that guards it. It's possible that it's different in other environments (smaller private schools), but I am confident that my experience is fairly representative of schools that offer top research positions.
 
Nick M

Nick M

Plymouth Colonist
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MrDeets said:
Parker County, Texas. If you start cowboyin down there, I'll come over and let you teach me how rope n' ride.
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But then he would have to change his screen name to Dallas Cowboy, and start paying Jerry Jones for usage.
 
B

BabyChristian

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Knight said:
The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for March 31st, 2011 10:04 AM


toldailytopic: Ideal employment. What would be your dream job?






Take the topic above and run with it! Slice it, dice it, give us your general thoughts about it. Everyday there will be a new TOL Topic of the Day.
If you want to make suggestions for the Topic of the Day send a Tweet to @toldailytopic or @theologyonline or send it to us via Facebook.
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Working at a zoo or with animals but in a place where they never get sick or die. Basically not in this world. :shocked:
 
PyramidHead

PyramidHead

Active member
Probably writing fiction or such. However I don't have the slightest clue how to do it and my writing probably sucks any way but I just like to do it
 
B

bybee

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I'd be in a "Think Tank" with five other person's. They would be educated and wise. We would discuss and debate the effects of new inventions, medical innovations and all of the Arts on society.
We would have a French chef to prepare main entrees and breads, an Italian chef to prepare pasta dishes and salads, a German chef to prepare desserts and we show them proper respect.
We would submit papers on our conclusions to major world media, governments and industries whose inventions were discussed.
We would not be paid for our services. We would all be retired and generally beyond corruption.
Once the group was established, upon the death of a member, nominations would be invited from the public at large and the group would decide who to bring in to fill the vacancy.
 
Frank Ernest

Frank Ernest

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Knight said:
There are several jobs I would love to have....

- Full time pay for maintaining and expanding TOL. :dizzy:
- CEO of a successful cigar manufacturing company. :BillyBob:
- Top designer for Chrysler's concept car division. :car:
- Professional beach sitter. :surf:
- Head scout for a professional Hockey Club. ::sharri:
- Lead beer taster. :cheers:
- King of the United States. :knight:
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Hey! I can get with 1,2, and 7! :rotfl: Go for it!
 
lightbringer

lightbringer

TOL Subscriber
vegascowboy said:
I'm sure y'all couldn't possibly guess mine....:think:

:D

I would love to own a ranch. Not a large ranch that would require a lot of hands to assist, but a smallish ranch that I could run with the help of my kids and my wife (what things she is able to do, that is).

I am pressed to think of another location where I can better teach my children the joy of hard work. It isn't easy to live on a ranch (I've done it), and you climb in bed at night after a very long day of rough work. The sense of pride you have in a job well done is incomparable.

I'd also like a large enough farm that I could be semi-self sufficient. Grow some vegetables...a fruit tree or two. Perhaps some chickens for eggs and meat as well as some pigs.

I'm open for suggestions as to where I should own this dream ranch.....
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Nebraska!
 
lightbringer

lightbringer

TOL Subscriber
vegascowboy said:
I was thinking something along the lines of Nebraska/Texas/Oklahoma/Iowa/Montana/Colorado/Minnesota....Ok, so half the country. But anyway...I really plan on making this happen someday.
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That was my dream as a young man but then the world got in the way and I got lost for far too long.

Check out landwatch.com on the web, will give you an idea whats out there and current asking prices!
 
vegascowboy

vegascowboy

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lightbringer said:
That was my dream as a young man but then the world got in the way and I got lost for far too long.

Check out landwatch.com on the web, will give you an idea whats out there and current asking prices!
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I will do so, thank you very much! I also have a great many books written by folks who have done what I'd like to do. I also have some practical experience to assist me. I appreciate that.
 
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