Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Going negative
Anyone feel their job is in jeopardy in these uncertain times? This totally sucks, and I hope you'll forgive me if I'm not up to my usual eloquence (¿?) when I express myself that way. Not only is the "Compact" not being honored, though by now that's old news, but California is borrowing 7 billion dollars or it won't make payroll. What the hell? I thought this was supposed to be a safe and sane career where the only adventure was of the intellectual kind. We eschewed business for a reason, at least I did, only to find myself a) not reaping the pecuniary benefits of a business career, b) thrust all the same into a financial cesspool created by greedy, unprincipled boors who, as I read recently, were the guys you rarely talked to in college, but occasionally did step over on sunday mornings sleeping in a pool of their own vomit, and c) doing a mediocre bureaucratic shuffle exactly the opposite of the life of the mind. How to maintain some optimism under such circumstances is the question I'm grappling with.
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8 comments:
I hear you. I had just made the mental decision not to go on the market this year when I heard the 7 billion dollars news. On top of all the brain dead people in Sacramento, we've also got brain dead people in Long Beach and in our own administrations to deal with.
The only place these days where full employment for life is guaranteed is the U.S. Army, and they are accepting people up through 42 years old.
Joking aside, in relative terms our jobs are much safer than most others, especially those in the business world, which respond to a much briefer timeline and market pressures that are much more volatile. On the other hand, at the very least a Ph.D. is an indicator that we all have a modicum of intelligence, and speaking for the team members of this blog, we all have a variety of skills, backgrounds, and experience, so we are at an advantage with respect to other poor people affected by this mess.
I accidentally pubished too early! I just wanted to finish by saying that we don't know how this is all going to play out yet. I am not big on optimism, but I always have hope.
This is a blog for complaints. I'm fed up with the business model too. Even here at little ol' Lyon it's run like a business. Our Prez constantly refers to the market and competition as reasons for our struggles. Just yesterday he quipped that if the Dow hits 2,000 (like that's going to happen) our problems will be over. Really? You mean retention, recruitment, sports v. academics, and other problems will be solved because of better economic times?
There are a couple of stimulating websites and blogs I have stumbled across that address some of this stuff. But, I just try to stay positive by consciously demeaning or belittling (like John McCain's "that one") committee/administrative necessities and aggressively focus on teaching and scholarship as a forcefield against mind sucking labor like a pre-tenure file.
By the way, over the Winter Break, I get to prepare a quite lengthy report for a credentialing agency in hopes to renew our capacity to train future 7-12 Spanish teachers. I can't wait for all of that education jargon. I'll send ya'll a copy when I'm done. Saving grace: I get a course reduction or the monetary equivalent which ain't too bad after Christmas.
Sites: http://profacero.wordpress.com/
http://www.enoughenough.org/article/20/the-suspension-of-fear/
Blog:
http://profacero.blogspot.com/
What is the official word from Cal State regarding faculty jobs? They can't cut them, can they?
My colleague told me the other day that he lost $250K (on paper) from the last round of stock market down turns.
I would hope they couldn't cut them, but if there's no money, who knows? If we had to create a hierarchy of relative worth (from the p.o.v. of administrative types), where would Spanish fit? Based on the salary scale, I would say near the bottom. There are people within my own college who have been here for a shorter time than I who make several thousand dollars more a year than I do. Knowing that I'm among the lowest paid members of the lowest paid college on campus doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I echo Mike on this. I like to hope the situation would have to reach apocalyptic levels of appalingness before they started cutting junior faculty. The morale problem following from such a move would destroy the university, considering the wave of baby boom retirements we're currently in. But like Mike says, who knows. I'm sure they're not taking any options off the table.
With regard to your colleague who lost the money, and he saved that much on a professor's salary? Mike, maybe they feel differently about Spanish up there in Washington...
Spanish brings in a lot of FTES. Not as much as chemistry, say, but they'd have to start eliminating language requirements. The bottom line is: stock up on canned goods and ammunition.
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