So, in the last post, I mentioned the mentality of the academic a.k.a academic brain damage. I’d like to talk a little more about this here for the edification of those unfamiliar with our particular sickness and want a good laugh and for those currently suffering from the malady to hopefully help them get on the path to recovery. Let’s break the features into a list because lists are awesome:
1. There can be no fun/fulfilling/meaningful career outside of academia
This is a biggie and probably the number one thing that kept me clinging on for five years. I firmly believed that any job that didn’t involve literary scholarship, teaching, and/or creative writing would be a soul-sucking roller coaster ride of misery that would have me reaching for the noose within a year. I had some support for this idea from the 9 months I spent as a data entry temp, and I’m sure everyone has horror stories like this about crappy little jobs in the “real world” where happiness goes to die. Because of what we’re told and because of these small experiences, we believe that leaving academia would mean selling our souls to Mr. Monopoly.
He actually looks like a fun guy to me
Of course, the reality is there is a whole host of interesting, meaningful jobs outside of academia, jobs where people might actually make eye contact with you, and you won’t have to sell plasma to make ends meet. You might not land one of these uber jobs right off the bat; I’m certainly not expecting to. But, the point is that there is at least the very real potential of doing something you like and are actually paid for, whereas once you’re stuck in that particular circle of hell that holds adjuncts, there’s no redemption.
2. The prestige, the feeling of “changing the world,” and living the “life of the mind makes it all OK.
Let’s be brutally honest here. We really REALLY love being called “Professor.” We love that we get to strut around 150-year old campuses imagining that we are walking with all the great thinkers of the world. We love that people are just a wee bit impressed when we tell them what we do. It’s really hard to imagine intelligent adults putting up with less than minimum wage pay, no health care, and “office space” in the attics of old buildings that we share with the drama clubs for any other reason.
This is not something we like to admit to anybody and certainly not to ourselves, but quitting is like giving up an identity. It’s shameful to some extent, but on the other hand, these are people that have spent at least six years (a master’s) and as much as twelve years, maybe more (PhD), dedicating themselves to a subject, becoming experts, living the “life of the mind.” It is gut-wrenchingly hard to just walk away from that, to accept that the life you worked so hard for was a lie, and your accomplishments don’t matter to the rest of the world. The key is to understand that you haven’t lost everything. You can use some of those skills you honed like research, analysis, and writing, and add to them to make a whole new, exciting path for yourself. An this brings us to….
3. I can’t leave because I don’t have the time or money to get another degree, and I can’t get a good job without one.
Everyone who thinks about leaving or who does leave instinctively looks to school as their way out. I’m echoing Sell Out Your Soul (I highly recommend buying his book) here, and it’s a very important point. Academia and business approach knowledge in different ways necessarily. To master anything in academia, it takes a very, very long time and rigid, specific credentials. In the real world, credentials don’t matter so much. They only care about results, what you can do for them. A degree is fine, but do you actually have the skills the employer needs, and can you prove that? I’m on a journey now to learn a whole host of new skills that I hope will make me attractive to my new employer, and I’m doing so without any formal classes. Read books, follow blogs, maybe even take some free online courses, practice your new skills. Show that you’re a hard, independently-motivated worker that won’t spend all day on Farmville. This is my approach based on the advice of a number of other successful academic ex-pats. It might take time, but at least you’re building skills while working instead of incubating in a classroom for years.
I had to rid myself of of this crippling mentality, and it took a long time. It’s scary to take that leap out the window of the Ivory Tower. However, I want better for myself, and so should you. Let’s see where this wild ride takes me!
School's Out Forever 