Today was my first day of work. I showed up, and they were like "secretary is working from home today. I can't get you your laptop, can't get your office, can't get your staff card or even your staff number. Come back on Monday." So I got the rest of the day off. I will say, for as much as lecturers and professors b-word and moan, they have one of the cushiest jobs possible in the middle class. I genuinely can't think of a profession that is as cushy as academia, especially when you consider the work/pay ratio. The big hurdle occurs right at the beginning - it's almost impossible to actually break into academia. There are a lot of forces working against young academics, including the two-body problem, the publish or perish complex, and most importantly, the lack of open job posts. It doesn't matter how educated you are when the number of jobs available is shrinking and 70yo boomers won't let go of their posts. We can see this in countries such as Australia for example:
But the number of academic positions has shrunk. Australia saw a significant decrease in academic staff from 54,086 in 2016 to 46,971 in 2021 as universities cut costs during the pandemic.
Despite the shrinking academic posts, the number of PhDs is only growing. The result? A shitload of graduates who can't find a job.
Our estimates suggest this figure has not changed much as of 2021. If there are about 185,000 people with a PhD, this is four times higher than the number of available academic positions (46,971).
We also know some PhD students struggle to get work outside of academia, despite the prestigious nature of their qualifications.
The 2022 Graduate Outcomes Survey found 84.7% of research degree graduates (which includes masters degrees by research as well as PhDs) were in full-time employment within six months of completing their studies. This compares with 78.5% of undergraduates.
It's incredibly hard to get into but once you're in, there's no more hard work tbh.
Doing research is one of the easiest things you can do if you work in the Humanities. Once you figure out how to please reviewers and which ideologies are in vogue, getting your work published is not hard. As for teaching, you regurgitate the same info year in, year out. It's routine work, and it doesn't take much intellect. In fact, planning out a course is fun because you get to teach topics you enjoy. Students are also generally nice, and they're more afraid of you than vice versa. As for the perks - high pay, flexible work hours, status, influence on intellectual zeitgeist - they're excessive. Universities are flush with money, and it's incredible how much of that money is spent pampering academics. They need their precious catering, you gotta pay for their travel and accommodation as they dash to different conferences, they need specialized courses on diversity, they need like half the year off to work on their research. Nonsense! Let's not even get into tenures. Shouldn't exist.
While I was enjoying my first day of work which lasted like an hour, there are some young souls who are reeling after being laid off. Once again, I am discussing video game journ*lists. This is a dead profession, and it is absolutely not stable enough for someone to forge a lifelong career. Nevertheless, like moths to a flame, thousands of youngsters are drawn to it believing that they can make a living writing about video games. Well, reality has visited a few folks. Let's analyse.
Fandom experiences layoffs
Fandom is a Wiki hosting service that hosts wikis on several entertainment topics. It was founded by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, and the site has found great popularity. Fandom owns several publications, including GameFAQs, GameSpot, Giant Bomb, and Metacritic.
Recently, Fandom experienced a great deal of layoffs, and it's estimated that 11% of its staff got the axe. GameSpot was particularly hard-hit, and many of those affected took to social media to share their plight. Let's scroll through and see what they say.
https://old.reddit.com/r/giantbomb/comments/1gfr2mg/layoffs_happening_at_gamespot/
https://old.reddit.com/r/giantbomb/comments/1gfubpu/looks_like_bailey_was_part_of_the_layoffs/
https://old.reddit.com/r/giantbomb/comments/1afpyej/looks_like_fandom_laid_off_some_folks_over_at/
https://old.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2c6vw4/gamespot_hit_with_layoffs_carolyn_petit_tom_mc/
Looks like I'm back to my YouTube channel.
β Dave Klein π‘οΈ π (@TheDaveKlein) October 30, 2024
Just got laid off from GameSpot. If anyone is looking for a Video Producer/Senior Producer, I've got you. Also been working on a game for the past couple years, and can program in C# and Unity, plus do Game Design.
So hey, if you need someone who can write/edit/manage/work with video/work with marketing and branded/work with social/work with SEO/do any of the 20 thousand other things I did at Fandom and GameSpot, I'm here.
β Chris Hayner (@ChrisHayner) October 30, 2024
Give me a job. Please.
GameSpot was the goal.
β DeVante Chisolm (@devantechisolm) October 30, 2024
Reached it sooner than I thought I would.
Now that its over... idk.
Time to switch careers & sell feet pics on OnlyFans?
(naaah, just tryna make myself laugh a lil)
Gonna try to enjoy my son's 1st bday in a few days, then the job hunt begins again.
Hi everyone, as you may have heard, there were layoffs at Fandom and Gamespot today, and unfortunately I was one of the people who got let go. Iβm pretty devastated because I loved my job and the people I worked with. If you know anyone whoβs hiring a writer/host/producer/etc,
β bailey meyers (@baileymeyers) October 30, 2024
This neighbor got a son to support and he's working as a fricking video game journ*list!
Conclusion
I be outside hitting the weed vape as I shitpost. I find it funny that these people see the mass layoffs hitting their industry, they are personally affected by them, and their first instinct after getting fired is to beg for another job in the same industry! You'd be foolish to have that experience and choose to become a video game journ*list again. IT'S NOT A REAL PROFESSION. I hope they can learn from their mistakes and steer their lives in a different direction before it's too late.
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Thanks sneedman, very cool
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