Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Monday, 20 Jul 1992 23:13:25 CDT
From: <U53644@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject:    Relevant Questions

As I hope that I've made clear, I will not respond to further e-mail on the
subjects of the the current academic job market, or the past state of the
economy. Those discussions have long since degenerated into "is not - is so"
style shouting matches.

One thing that I don't consider relevant - Mr. Solinsky tells me that he "only
wants to hear stories about winners", sort of a popular attitude of late, and a
rather immature one. A big part of what adulthood is, is the ability to
recognize unpleasant realities, and to figure out how to deal with them. The
second part of that sentence can't happen until the first one does - you can't
solve a problem you don't recognize the existence of. Those "success" stories
are relevant only when they tell us something about how to succeed ourselves,
and when they are about the lucky few are actually harmful. They may make you
feel a lot better, but they do so at the price of making you complacent. And
they really don't help change anything about your own place in the world. Like
trying to solve your problems by drinking, they give you temporary relief by
helping you escape for a bit - but reality always come flooding back, and
you'll find yourself worse off than before, and feeling it.

Things that are relevant -

      1. Given the difficult job situation, how do we go about getting work,
         and put food on our tables. What work can we look into, how do we
         get it, what are the situations in the various areas of work
         available (BTW, someone reports a tight market for Operations Research
         people right now. Any confirmation or dispute of that would be
         valuable). Having gotten it, what is the best way to proceed in it.

      2. If we lack a University position, what is the best way to get research
         work done and published in spite of this. Where can we go for funding.
         What are some interesting areas being pursued.

      3. If we wish to teach (because we enjoy teaching), how, in current
         conditions, do we go about getting a chance to do so (alternatives
         to University posts). What are some good teaching techniques.

                               (In fact, I've touched on almost all of these
                                questions in previous posts, but there is a
                                lot more to be said).

      4. If you are a graduate student in a small college town, what can you do
         for fun (ever consider taking classes in other departments, like
         Theatre, Art, Music, developing a hobby ?).

Get the idea ? In a bad situation, you figure out how to get done what you want
done, and just accept that you may not be able to do so in as direct a fashion
as you had hoped.

Just pretending that your problems aren't there, or thinking that they'll go
away by themselves, however, is something that we all should have outgrown
already. Those who are unwilling to act on their own behalves, will quickly
find that noone else is willing to either, and rightfully so. Sitting at
home, sobbing to yourself about how Harvard didn't offer you a tenure track
position, and covering it up when you go outside with a false show of bravado
("I'm not worried - anyone good gets an offer") and a refusal to consider
other alternatives (I'll just have to wait for that offer) isn't brave, it
isn't mature or tough - it's just childish and weak and stupid.

You know, the Yuppies may not have treated us fairly, but they do have a point.
When a number of them found that their initial plans had fallen through, they
didn't sit around waiting for someone else to take care of their problems -
they went out and looked for what opportunities really existed. If we do any
less, what right to we have to ask for any respect from them at all ?

                                                    Joseph B. Dunphy



P.S. As I've already stated, there are some letters I won't respond to.
     Someone said "But if you don't respond, the other side wins". Wins what ?
     I'm simply not going to pay attention to follow-ups from a certain camp.
     I could post the comment "A clear noontime sky is blue", and someone
     would post an arguement to that, just because I had posted it. I don't
     respond to netposts when the argument has more to do with what the poster
     feels about the person he is responding to than what he actually said.

   So, no more e-mail asking me why I'm not willing to respond to someone, OK ?

Newsgroups: sci.research.careers