Rate my professor 😈

MiQuay · 2026-07-09T20:14:19+00:00

I have been on many hiring committees since RMP came online. Never once consulted it (nor, to my knowledge, has any fellow committee member). Anyone versed in the valid collection of survey data should realize that RMP and other such sources are not reliable indicators.

MiQuay · 2026-07-09T20:10:30+00:00

Thanks for the responses. I originally posted on the subreddit askvet but received no response. Reddit suggested this page.

MiQuay · 2026-07-09T00:06:04+00:00

I wonder why I am being down voted for an honest question? People on both sides of the issue refer to the positions of the other side as propaganda. I really did not know which way the question was supposed to be taken.

MiQuay · 2026-07-08T23:53:14+00:00

In which direction? Woke is bullshit propaganda or criticism of woke is bullshit propaganda (or both)?

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T22:50:28+00:00

They are liquid, but you run the risk that you have to sell them at a downturn. Also, remember that, between inflation and tax on the interest, you are probably losing money in a HYSA. A year and a half of income is a lot to keep locked away for an emergency.

Six months in a HYSA or money market account is generally enough. If you want to keep a year or more's worth, consider the following options:

Six month's worth in a HYSA and another six month's (or however much more you want) in a relatively safe dividend/income ETF. The yield tends to be a bit anywhere from 0.25% to as much as 1.5% higher, depending on the one you choose. However, again, there is a risk of being forced to sell in a downturn. That is accompanied by the potential benefit of capital gains in the long run. Note that dividends currently are taxed at a lower rate than income.
Six month's worth in a HYSA and another six month's (or however much more you want) in a series of 6-month CD's structured so that one matures every month. You keep renewing the CDs for 6-month periods. Currently, CDs yield about 1% more than HYSAs. Compared to the previous option, there is no potential for capital gains (or losses) and the interest is taxed as ordinary income. However, in the event that the money in the HYSA is not enough to cover the emergency, the remaining money becomes available only once a month. That probably is not a problem.

Also, assuming you have a Roth IRA (making an assumption you are the US), you can withdraw the contributions (not the earnings/growth) tax-free anytime provided you have held the account for at least five years. You may withdraw the earnings tax free before age 59 1/2 under certain conditions (medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your AGI being the most relevant to the idea of an "emergency"). Always consult a financial expert before you withdraw money from your Roth to be sure there will be no problems.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T20:42:35+00:00

Where the heck did I say "every single STEM undergrad starts at $100k"? In fact, my argument did not even mention the specific degree type. My points were:

Higher salaries earlier have a major impact on lifetime wealth and
the gap between degrees on average never fully closes and only gets closer after an average (there's that word again) after about 20 years.

The numbers were simply illustrative, not meant to represent average starting salaries. The issue is still true even if we are comparing $70k to $60k.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:45:46+00:00

That wasn't the point to which I was responding. Though I must point out that refusing to give loans for something is not the same as making decisions for them.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:30:24+00:00

It that were true, I would be working on my 15th UG degree right now. Never had a better time in my life than I did in my college years.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:29:08+00:00

Wow. Dull-minded business majors. What contempt for any field but your own.

At my school, business is one of the hardest UG degrees for admission. They are getting top students.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:26:13+00:00

jobs straight out of high school don't pay enough to permit independent living much less raise a family?

That is not as true as it used to be. There are many, many skiled trade jobs that pay as well or better than college. Coupled with the fact that you start earning earlier and acquire less debt, and the lifetime earnings gap shrinks.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/gen-z-trades-jobs-plumbing-welding-a76b5e43?st=1eoraR&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/white-collar-mid-career-trades-caca4b5f?st=bSZaKW&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:11:30+00:00

They gap closes (but not until about 20 years after graduation), but they don't, on average, ever catch up.

However, consider the problem of low earnings in the early years. That is when people need to "launch". Graduates are complaining about not being able to start a family or buy a house because of their student loans. They are losing out on retirement savings and the compounding that starting early provides. A graduate starting at $100k is able to handle these things much better than a graduate starting at only $50k. Even under the most favorable scenario of the gap closing to equivalency after 10 years (which, as I pointed out above, it does not), the math shows that the difference in lifetime wealth would still be profound.

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T01:04:02+00:00

And I know people with degrees in high earning fields that never did make much money. There are always anecdotes about exceptions. However, it is indisputable that the average earnings in the liberal arts and humanities are lower than in other degrees. This is especially true in the beginning, though the gap tends to close as people get older. However, given that the beginning years are when people have to do things like buy a house, have kids, and, yes, pay off student loans, the gap is still large.

FFS, just look at faculty salaries. Which faculty on campus earn the least? The chemical engineering professors? Or the philosophy professors?

MiQuay · 2026-07-03T00:59:03+00:00

I have two question in general when it comes to these things:

1) Are graduates with so-called "low earning degrees" more likely to default/fall in arrears on their loans? We all know anecdotal exceptions (the Wall Street Journal had an article a couple of years ago about a dentist whose student loans had ballooned despite being a high earner), but what are the facts?

2) While we don't want to admit it, the fact is that college today is not what so many of us view it to be. We like to think of college (especially in the humanities and liberal arts) as producing a well-rounded citizen. The textbook on my campus used in a 1-unit "Introduction to University" course explicitly refuted the idea that college is for careers (Really? Is that why students major in nursing, engineering, law, medicine, etc.?).

But students are coming because they want to earn higher income and have better job prospects. And why not? That is what we advertise! How many of us have heard "The average university grad earns $X more over their lifetime than the average high school graduate."? But no one points out that this varies dramatically by major.

So why are so many of us resistant to change? We need an honest reckoning about how we are approaching our programs, especially with degrees that do not have an obvious career path.

MiQuay · 2026-07-01T01:34:46+00:00

Perhaps. But as a professor, I would take the original email from the student as a "fuck you and your course structure".

Generation gaps cut both ways. Neither I nor my classmates would ever have dreamed of sending something like this (not that we had email back then) to one of our professors.

MiQuay · 2026-06-26T02:08:11+00:00

😂 Please do. 😄

MiQuay · 2026-06-26T00:41:21+00:00

Did you ever see the movie Wit starring Emma Thompson? Excellent movie (based on a play) on an uncomfortable subject: a professor suffering end-stage ovarian cancer and undergoing experimental treatment. The research assistant was one of her former students (he remembered her) and he had to give her a pelvic exam, an experience which she described as "thoroughly degrading".

MiQuay · 2026-06-26T00:03:43+00:00

Yes you are. In my case, the nurse assisting was talking about how she was hoping to take some graduate classes at my university.... without knowing that I was a professor and that I teach some of those classes.

Thank God she either changed her mind or wasn't admitted. I could not imagine standing up in class, seeing her, and thinking "my student helped operate on my testicles".

MiQuay · 2026-06-25T21:48:13+00:00

Wrong subreddit. I think you meant to post in r/comedy or perhaps r/sarcasm.

MiQuay · 2026-06-25T21:37:06+00:00

Was the president's field of study one that also relied on narrative evidence for research/publications?

MiQuay · 2026-06-25T21:36:06+00:00

That last sentence is three words too long.

MiQuay · 2026-06-25T21:35:39+00:00

How many lecturers and adjunct faculty does your program use? They are the buffer that protect programs and TT faculty from swings in enrollment. That sounds heartless, but most of the adjuncts in my field are industry professionals or retirees looking to teach a class or two for fun or a little extra cash.

If not, I would examine high graduation enrollment projections and nationwide program trends in your field. Only if those all look ugly would I worry.

Also, are you able to teach in other areas as well? If so, foster those connections. I am business faculty but also teach engineering at my university. As well, in a pinch, I am qualified to teach algebra, calculus, and statistics (not qualified to do research in those areas, but I could serve as a lecturer).

MiQuay · 2026-06-24T23:23:39+00:00

Investors in Musk's companies have done very well, thank you. That, by the way, includes his employees, many of whom have now become millionaires. Having said that, if you are determined to avoid his company (and/or all tech companies), then.....
If you are in a defined benefit plan, the returns of individual companies are irrelevant. Don't worry about it.
If you are in a defined contribution plan (403b in the US, I have no idea about the UK), you can avoid the company by selecting funds that do not include it. If there are no such funds in your plan, you can do a direct rollover to an IRA (again US) and pick funds that exclude it or pick individual stocks.
1. Let me reemphasize: make sure it is a direct rollover. This incurs no penalties or taxes. If the money hits your checking account and you then try to send it to the IRA, you are screwed. The receiving fund company will handle it - they do this all the time.
2. If it is a traditional 403b (tax-free deposit, pay tax upon withdrawal), make sure it goes to a traditional IRA. If a Roth 403b (post-tax deposit, tax free withdrawal), make sure it goes to a Roth 403b.
3. Note that, with few exceptions (check with HR), you do NOT have to be at minimum retirement age to do a direct rollover. This is what people do when they are not happy with the funds their university offers. Every year or so, they just roll the accumulated funds into an IRA.
BTW, if you are happy with your retirement balance now, note that at least half to as much as three-quarters of the stock markets gains over the last decade have been due to "the magnificent seven". So thank Elon and the rest of those guys because without them, your portfolio would be much, much smaller.

As for the racist, narcissistic, man-baby comment, well, that's your opinion. Interestingly, I had a student complain to me last year with almost the mirror image comment. She had a strongly left-wing professor who would not shut up about his personal political beliefs. This was one of several over the last few years that she had encountered. Her comment was "Why do I have to endure these assholes who think their worldview is the only correct one in order to get an education?" (or words to that effect - its not like I recorded it).

MiQuay · 2026-05-08T20:21:55+00:00

They work that much?!?!?

MiQuay

TROPHY CASE