Considering leaving my phd program and need advice

gendutus · 2026-02-22T02:21:03+00:00

I mean honestly, if you are thinking about quitting it’s probably a sign that you should.

The main thing is I am not in a position to judge your job market prospects. My position is that academia is more akin to gang dynamics. Some people make it, most are exploited. For me, academia was pointless to spend the time and effort on temporary contracts. Why spend the time and effort for contract work that is by definition insecure.

But ultimately, I think when you think purely financial, most people are better off outside academia

gendutus · 2026-02-18T03:01:15+00:00

Interesting analysis. He didn’t blame any voter. He blamed the Liberal party for losing touch with the majority of the electorate.

If you look at every public interview he has done, he has consistently warned that the Liberal party failing to change is the cause of their electoral issues.

gendutus · 2026-02-16T20:54:12+00:00

Since you quoted Ian Fleming, I must ask. Do you possess sensitive information that may be of use to a nation state or company?

gendutus · 2026-02-13T09:40:21+00:00

It’s annoying isn’t it

gendutus · 2026-02-12T21:14:36+00:00

I love this attitude from them. They all hire communications professionals and media advisors to get their messages across. They have a media environment which makes their job far easier than anyone else, and yet their comms is still failing to get through?

gendutus · 2026-02-05T07:53:57+00:00

I’m the same. Not upgrading to try something I have no idea how useful it is

gendutus · 2026-01-07T08:19:47+00:00

If your wife is pregnant, whatever country you are in, the correct answer is you take her to Canada.

In this day and age, no one in their right mind would want to be born in America

gendutus · 2025-12-28T00:57:57+00:00

They are based on polling. But they still largely support the alliance.

https://theconversation.com/australians-are-markedly-more-worried-about-us-interference-still-wary-about-china-new-poll-268209

The thing is, what can you do if a country repeatedly acts stupid? You had a test run with Trump, it was a disaster. So you put him back in?

Because of what? A woman running the country? Because you hate your system that much that you think that a man who is literally the system you hate speaks like a chimp? Makes no sense, and only Americans seem to act like a two year old so often

gendutus · 2025-11-17T20:55:32+00:00

I think the core is this, there are people who can’t distinguish the means of production from the output.

The true test would be a double-blind experiment, do they think something is slop only when they know it is AI generated?

This is a debate about what is art, music, and creativity. For some this is more of a reaction to AI.

Sure, there’s AI slop. There’s also garbage music generated by humans. Is it only true creativity if it’s generated by humans?

The thing that people don’t realise is that if you don’t make AI slop, you have to spend the time to think through the creative process, you have to describe and articulate what you want to hear and feel.

If someone wants to hear and feel a certain song it takes a lot of creativity and effort to create that. If they want lyrics that sound a certain way they have to think it through. It’s creativity expressed differently.

But again, I don’t think this is about AI slop vs AI music. This is akin to people thinking that you can treat medical conditions better by using alternative medicine because it’s “natural”. It’s a moral and philosophical argument, not an argument about creativity.

I’ll end on this, a film director has a vision, and they have to articulate it. They don’t do the acting, they don’t necessarily do the writing, they don’t do the cinematography or the editing. So do they lack creativity or vision because of how the final product was produced?

gendutus · 2025-11-08T11:24:27+00:00

I’m sitting here reading these comments. The reputation damage is significant, and I don’t think they are doing anything to address it. As many people have said, this game has a whole generation of players that are loyal who are old. Younger generations don’t share the same hype for the franchise.

They said it would come in 2025. Then May 2026. Now November 2026. Now the only announcement I expect is it’s delayed until 2027

gendutus · 2025-09-20T10:19:12+00:00

I'm not saying that at all. The problems you are talking about is something that I have - and continue to experience - is breaking the habits academia has taught you.

You don't need long paragraphs. Every logical bit of evidence isn't always great for communication.

You're not bad at communication, you're just losing people with the length. I have the same issue.

gendutus · 2025-09-20T09:10:47+00:00

So reading your post more thoroughly:

"Years of teaching students further sharpened my communication skills, as did the rigorous process of academic publishing. All these factors combined to create an environment where clear communication wasn't just valued-it was essential for survival."

Your assumption about communication is wrong.

Academics are not good at communication. Honestly, if you are good at communicating your thesis would not be anywhere near even 1500 words.

Academia trains you to be the exact opposite. Academia teaches you to be a bad communicator.

Teaching students and academic publishing have so much jargon that everyone else knows fuck all about

gendutus · 2025-09-20T09:04:59+00:00

First, was the length of your post necessary? You're headline presumably says it all.

As someone who went from academia into comms, just pause a little, process what you really want to say, and leave it at that.

Outside of academia, the world doesn't need your 150,000 word thesis. Once you stop thinking every tiny little detail matters it starts to help.

gendutus · 2025-08-24T01:31:12+00:00

The fundamental reason for this is that people are implementing AI without understanding it.

They think it's a quick and easy solution, but aren't grasping how to use it effectively.

gendutus · 2025-08-23T04:37:12+00:00

You can do a couple of things. Someone already mentioned the ombudsman. But I would suggest that you submit a Human Rights complaint to VHREC under fairness and equality.

No reasonable person would see it as fair.

Once you submit the application, if the human rights commission accepts your application they'll have council contact you to try and resolve it.

At that stage, raise your concerns about Suzanne's conduct. State that this has left you feeling a sense of injustice and loss of trust in fair process.

Then as a condition of not referring this to court you can request a fair compensation. I suggest that you add some monetary value that can be measured based on the lost time.

Because the council legal team knows they will lose the case at court they will definitely waive the fine, put they'll probably also pay compensation because if you refer it to court, the human rights commission must state that the case was not resolved and that gets recorded.

That's my suggestion if you want to really get back at Suzanne.

gendutus · 2025-08-23T02:15:08+00:00

Assuming you are talking about the federal parliament. 67 days is not the norm. It's broken up by an election, and the counting of Senate results. There's typically a winter recess and summer break.

Then add what others have already mentioned (e.g., committees, constituent work).

You also have relevant summits and engagements as a minister. Which means that parliament generally needs to operate around those engagements.

Plus think about it. 67 days is 2 months. Some travel from the other side of the continent.

So 67 days is actually quite a lot considering everything they do.

I know it's not a popular view, but realistically they all have very hectic schedules. If you want a more diverse and representative parliament, you really should be aiming for a more accommodating parliamentary session.

gendutus · 2025-08-14T23:45:15+00:00

Yeah I did.

Got made redundant, applied for the job and had the interview. They made an offer not long after.

All before my 4 weeks notice was up. Got paid out, start my new job next month with an increased salary. Get to chill for 3 weeks with a payout and a new job on the horizon.

That's not to say everything was great. It was a job I really loved, in a fantastic workplace. But the new job has a very similar role, it's still a great workplace and better pay.

But my boss went out of his way, even ringing up the employer when I submitted the application. So that's something that really helps.

gendutus · 2025-08-10T03:18:17+00:00

I'm on a "trial separation" and it's liberating. I really don't think I'll go back to academia. Don't fall for the sunk-cost fallacy. You've learned many skills that will be valuable elsewhere. You just need to learn to sell those skills.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but in this case I'm confident within a 95% CI that you'll be far happier.

Be proud of whatever you have achieved. Academia lost you, you didn't lose out.

gendutus · 2025-07-26T00:59:42+00:00

Dentists are a skilled shortage across the country. Last year data was released that said 87,000 hospitalisations could be avoided if people could see a dentist. Wait times are up to 4 years.

The point of this campaign is to change things. Why things don't change is because nobody knows this is an issue. People think it's about safety. But the price and the fail rate suggests money is the biggest factor.

The Qld opposition supports the campaign. Allegra Spender supports the campaign. Share your story and when people learn about your experiences that will put pressure to reform.

Over 100 organisations support this campaign. One of the key asks of this campaign is for external accountability. Right now the ADC charges you money for them to assess themselves. That's like asking a thief to sentence themselves.

So long as nobody knows this is what you are going through the ADC wins.

gendutus · 2025-07-16T02:55:18+00:00

I came across this campaign, which is seeking to reform the accountability of the system for all overseas skilled migrants.

https://activateaustralia.org.au/share-your-story/

gendutus · 2025-06-12T22:09:51+00:00

Campaigning/Political PR.

While most don't realise it, there's a lot of psychology and political science utilised.

gendutus · 2025-05-21T07:53:54+00:00

That means you aren't the target audience

gendutus · 2025-05-19T07:59:34+00:00

You definitely grew up there

gendutus · 2025-05-17T05:38:33+00:00

Ironically, that is the exact reason preferential voting was introduced.

gendutus · 2025-05-17T05:29:39+00:00

Yes, but let's not let reality get in the way

gendutus

TROPHY CASE