Skip to main content

Ph.D Research - Can you make yourself irreplaceable?

A while ago, I had dinner with this lovely young eastern European woman. It was our first encounter. She has been living in the UK for only two weeks. she had already a job and an accommodation. We started talking about our academic achievement. She mentioned that she had a master in digital literature. I suggested that she could possibly do her Ph.D at the University of Reading. She shrugged and said

 'I have been working as a research administrator in a university for two years. I was the one who convinced students not to do their Ph.D. 

 Ph.D students slave themselves away for three years of their life. They carry out valuable research, write papers and go to conference, yet they are underpaid and they will probably not get a job at the end of it. Academia is an industry where Ph.D are a herd being truthfully exploited.'

It was partially true.

I started my Ph.D to escape the dogma of some other mainstream form of exploitation

I wanted to be my own project.

Academia appeared to be a door to freedom.

Yet, my value and future truly depend on research area, trends and interests. The week following to that I found myself thinking more than once that I could possibly leave my Ph.D.

Be self-employed and do whatever I want.

I did not.

Employed or self-employed, it remains the same. Your future actions are dictated by who needs you and how easy you can be replaced.

I am wondering how one can make themselves irreplaceable?

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cluttered House - What are you choosing to ignore?

Your house is currently cluttered and messy. From your perspective, clearing it out is far from being your current priority as it stands, you are too busy taking over the world. Yet, the people around you are starting to feel the brunt of your lack of presence in space and time. You do not even notice the mess around you because you only think about what needs to get done in other aspects of your life. How can you possibly rectify that so people around you can focus on supporting you in your scheme as opposed to the mess that they can see around you? It appears your level of tolerance is far higher than them. You just feel things are going to get together eventually or maybe you are in denial, who knows. You may be choosing to ignore critical issues to protect yourself. And so, here is the question to answer - What are you choosing to ignore? list 20 things Once you have answered those questions, rank them in order of importance. Pick the 3 top one and focus on res...
Read more

Slow Repair

Can the slow movement happens in manufacturing? Could it be the answer for supporting repair? I am wondering as I discuss with my colleagues 'SLOW' The slow movement advocates a cultural shift toward slowing down life's pace. You have probably heard of the slow food movement, slow fashion, slow design etc. It asked us to slow down and stop trying to reach the speed of light. As consumers struggle to repair ever changing small electrical products, may be it is time for manufacturers to slow down at least at the same rate or a bit faster than human development. The role of technology can aid to make human capabilities leap forward, yet become counterproductive when it loses behind the many people who are unable to learn to fix and manage their environment. So what is it to reckon? Is the Slow Good Movement possible?
Post a Comment
Read more

Refused to jump on the horseback

I spent the weekend with a good friend of mine. She introduced me to her community of church goers. I was impressed by how committed and big this community is. They try to lift each other through the spoken words of the bible. As I entered the community, I created curiosity, interest as much as opportunity. Questions followed: ''Are you going to Church'' Which church are you going to'' ''Are you a Christian'' Do you believe in God''  Then I answered it: No, No, No, Yes They reacted - looking down, disappointed, sad of my misfortune: ''if you don't follow jump in, you will probably go to hell when you die''. I thought: I don't know the horse, neither who tamed it. I ain't jumping on his back... hell and heaven can be created on earth... for what happen after death I am not sure.
Read more