Board 8 > I've got an interview for my dream job tomorrow. Wish me luck!

(+) Yeah! (+)

KamikazePotato posted...

My mom works in academia. I've heard lots of stories. Internal academic politics are INCREDIBLY rampant like you wouldn't believe. The amount of nepotism probably runs deeper than in an actual corporation.

Oh yeah, I've seen it myself, and I wholeheartedly agree that politics/nepotism is much worse in academia than the corporate world. Don't get me wrong, it's bad in corporate America as well, but at least there employees have more numerous options (switching companies/departments, complaining to HR, requesting different projects or teams). The concept of academic tenure, along with the glacially slow nature of academia, effectively shields university faculty from consequences.

Like... I'm not even that upset about losing the job to a guy who is almost certainly a worse teacher - he has been teaching part-time longer than me and has taught a larger variety of classes. Seniority is seniority; I understand that. I'm more upset that he's 67 years old, already retired after a career in banking, and clearly has no financial need for this job. I got boomer'd.

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ugh, so salty on your behalf, sorry to hear
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Similar story on a smaller scale - my partner got passed up for a tech teacher position at the local school, and now they came back to ask her to sub for that same tech teacher position for a couple days

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Academia is awful. Thinking about getting out of it but also weirdly thankful for the job.

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Sorry I didn't see this to wish you luck last week.

Given that this guy is already old and is probably going to suck, do you think there is a realistic probability of him leaving the position (either willingly or otherwise) within the next 2-3 years?

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Peace___Frog posted...

Given that this guy is already old and is probably going to suck, do you think there is a realistic probability of him leaving the position (either willingly or otherwise) within the next 2-3 years?

I doubt either (leaving willingly or being removed) is very probable, but I suppose him quitting is the likelier option. I can't see any circumstances that would lead to his removal, as this department in particular seems insulated from any performance-related consequences.

Counting this new hire, 8 of the 12 fulltime faculty are near, at, or beyond retirement age. Eleven of the 12 are men (the lone female faculty, who has hired right before the pandemic, might be the department's first ever). It definitely feels like an old boy's club, and I doubt that will change until those older guys who run it begin to retire.

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