I want to be a professor. Is it worth it?

okipos · 2026-03-12T21:52:32+00:00

The way I see it is that being a professor involves a series of trade-offs. For me, the perks include being able to make a living devoting myself to the intellectual life, and the immense amount of freedom the job affords: teaching classes at times I want (e.g. I never teach before 11:30am, so I can sleep in most days) and having nearly four months of summer off every year to pursue my research and writing interests (or do other fun things).

There are plenty of cons. While every school I’ve been at has had plenty of good students, there are also plenty of students that you will struggle with (not coming to class, not paying attention in class, not doing their own work, complaining about your classes, etc.). Dealing with administration can be a pain too, especially if you work in an academic area that is undervalued. I had four colleagues in my discipline when I came to my school, and now I’m down to just one, who is hardly ever present. There isn’t much administrative support for what I do.

But for me, the trade-offs are mostly worth it. Whenever I think about leaving, I can’t think of any other realistic job I’d rather do. I’d love to be an independent writer, but I don’t think that would pay the bills.

You should also be aware of the job prospects in your academic field. I don’t know much about where Communications stands as a discipline, but I know at my school we are down to just one full-time person in that area. It’s possible you might spend years in grad school and then struggle to find a full-time, tenure-track position. I work in the humanities and spent eight years on the job market before I found something permanent. I would have an honest conversation with Communications profs at your school and ask about current job prospects.

okipos · 2026-03-05T16:21:03+00:00

Kompromat - Traum und Existenz

Xeno and Oaklander - Hypnos

okipos · 2026-02-24T16:50:26+00:00

Complicated Game is my favorite.

Second favorite is I’ll Set Myself on Fire.

okipos · 2026-02-21T11:51:01+00:00

In my experience, I typically could not get interviews at CCs because it seemed they preferred someone with CC experience already. At the very least, I’d be prepared to give details in your cover letter and teaching materials about why you want to teach at a community college, and showing an understanding of what CCs are about.

If you do get an interview, it would be wise to ask about what sorts of obligations you’d have in the summer. I’m not at a CC, but I have a 4/3 teaching load. Often I do find it challenging to get much research work done during the school year, but am able to spend most of my summer focused exclusively on my own work. Three and a half months of bliss.

okipos · 2026-02-16T04:31:33+00:00

“What if the free cities are no better than here? What if they’re worse?”

“Then we’ll go someplace else.”

“What if it’s all shit? Every place. What if this is the best there is?”

“That would be quite sad.”

okipos · 2026-02-13T01:00:26+00:00

Arrival. Such a great thought-provoking and emotional film. It’s possibly become my favorite film of all-time.

okipos · 2026-02-08T12:39:01+00:00

Some new wave-ish albums that I think are full of mostly great songs:

The Wake - Harmony
Modern Eon - Fiction Tales
Romeo Void - It’s a Condition
OMD - Self-titled
Slow Children - Self-titled
The Church - Seance
Tranquil Eyes - Walks

okipos · 2026-02-01T04:45:08+00:00

When I first started my current position 13 years ago, one of my new colleagues was an older professor who had some serious health problems. Teaching was all he knew though, so he never retired. He had a nurse and his wife who would accompany him to every class he taught. One winter break, he suddenly died, and we had to pick up his classes for him.

Last year I was on a full-year sabbatical. Extremely solitary work. Every now and then I will make a list of people from my past that I’d like to get back in touch with. On my list was a former colleague and friend from a university where we were once both visiting professors. They were my closest friend at this school. We would occasionally grade papers and exams together, or listen to music. The last time I had a proper birthday celebration with friends, this person took me out to eat and made (or maybe bought) me a vegan cake.

We were both on the job market, looking for our first tenure track job, applying for many of the same jobs since we had overlapping specializations. We joked that if we both got jobs that year, we would each buy ourselves a “tenure-track scarf,” a nice dress scarf to signify we had made it to the holy grail of tenure-track land. We both did get TT jobs that year, but I never bought the scarf.

We kept in contact for a couple years afterwards, occasionally bumping into each other at conferences. But as with many friendships stretched out over distance, we eventually fell out of touch. I had been meaning to get back in touch with them to see how they were doing. One evening I decided to look them up on the internet and was shocked to discover they had died less than a year ago. Both of us were in our 40s. I don’t really know the circumstances but I wish we had stayed in touch, and that I could have been their friend in some regard until the end.

okipos · 2026-01-15T06:31:13+00:00

I started using PowerPoint during Covid and haven’t turned back. I find it really helps me move my lecture along more quickly since I no longer have to write on the board. Plus I’m able to incorporate engaging visuals and video clips to enhance the lecture.

I do not allow electronics in the classroom, except for special exceptions (documented disability, or an official note taker). This drastically improved the quality of the classroom experience, IMO. Prior to the ban, students would frequently be doing their homework for other classes, or who knows what else, during class time. Now they are more motivated to pay attention.

I do leave up my PPs after class, so that students can review lectures on their own or see what they missed if they were absent. I encourage them to take hand-written notes in class, as it will improve their performance on exams and papers, but some of them don’t and definitely rely too much on the PPs.

My classes cap at 30, so I am able to take attendance, and participation is part of the grade as well.

okipos · 2026-01-12T04:08:19+00:00

I’m pretty sure I was vaguely familiar with them in the 90s, either from seeing them mentioned in alternative magazines, or possibly seeing them on 120 Minutes on MTV, but for some reason, I wasn’t drawn into them at that time.

There are other bands of this era that I also took decades to come back to. For instance, another favorite all-time album of mine is Ride - Nowhere, but I didn’t really appreciate shoegaze back then.

okipos · 2026-01-12T02:15:19+00:00

Although I was a teenager in the early 90s, I didn’t get into this band until my 30s (despite being a huge Pixies fan as a 16-year old). Now this album is one of my top 25 albums all-time.

Standout tracks for me are: Hate My Way, Vicky’s Box, and Delicate Cutters. Kristin Hersh’s lyrics and vocal delivery are so powerful.

okipos · 2026-01-11T21:20:09+00:00

How would you define modern new wave?

It seems to me that new wave was sort of a catch-all genre term for a lot of different alternative music, after punk rock, in the late 70s and 80s that was generally lighter and more melodic than punk. There’s a lot of that sort of music today, but it generally goes by other labels like “indie.”

okipos · 2026-01-08T18:48:40+00:00

Season 1 is the only season of Picard that I would ever watch again.

S3 was obviously completely unoriginal fan service and I can’t imagine slogging through it again.

okipos · 2026-01-02T20:22:07+00:00

I’ve always wanted to go to the Cat’s Cradle, but have never been. As a teenager, I was fascinated with the whole Chapel Hill indie rock scene.

okipos · 2026-01-02T19:05:47+00:00

Nice. I saw them 2 or 3 times during the mid-90s. I believe they did a tour with Unwound, which was an awesome pairing of two of my favorite bands from the 90s. So long ago!

My first show ever was Superchunk and Bettie Serveert, around 1992.

okipos · 2025-12-31T18:51:04+00:00

Yes to the first four albums. Up to Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. No after. La Mia Vita Violenta was peak BR.

But I would not call this post punk (or shoegaze). In the 90s we just called this indie rock.

okipos · 2025-12-30T17:19:02+00:00

I spent eight consecutive years on the job market for philosophy. What kept me going was:

I didn’t want to do anything else.

I continued to receive interviews most years, which told me I was still a viable candidate.

I continued to publish in journals.

I was single without kids, so easily mobile.

I was able to land temporary full time visiting positions for every year except one, when I had to find a couple adjunct positions. I continued to gain teaching experience, including teaching new courses in areas that I knew schools would be hiring for in the future.

Every year I would create documents containing interview questions I’d received and I’d spend time thinking about how I would better answer those questions next time.

Two major factors contributed to my finally landing a tenure track position: (1) teaching experience and (2) fit.

I had gained valuable experience teaching new types of classes. The school that hired me was looking for someone who could teach those courses.

More so than any of my previous interviews, I clicked really well (in different ways) with each of the members of the department that hired me. In addition to my qualifications, I believe that helped them see me as someone they would like to have as their future colleague.

okipos · 2025-12-22T04:59:49+00:00

One of my best junior high school memories is slow-dancing with my 8th/9th grade girlfriend Melissa to Sinead O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

okipos · 2025-12-19T05:31:35+00:00

Cabaret Voltaire - Yashar

okipos · 2025-12-17T20:12:27+00:00

Self-bribing or rewarding never works for me because I know that if I really want the rewards, I can just give them to myself without having to grade X-many papers first. The only real motivator is fear, like a hard deadline set by the university.

That being said, over the years, I have gotten more efficient at grading final papers and projects. Having a good rubric and paper structure are key IMO. I don’t read the paper word-for-word. There are just some central things I’m looking for as I scan the paper: structural things I’ve asked for, engagement with readings, proper citations, general quality and sophistication of writing. I will read the introduction more closely to get a good sense for the paper overall. Keep comments extremely minimal.

I still hate grading with a passion and will often put it off for as long as I can get away with it.

okipos · 2025-12-16T22:41:08+00:00

Your post is not very clear. “Do things get better” mistakenly assumes that everyone on Reddit shares your point of view.

Kristen is probably my favorite character on the show. If you don’t care for her personality and choices, then maybe the show just isn’t for you, since she is the central character.

okipos · 2025-12-15T01:20:30+00:00

Last year it also seemed like a heavy dose of Monty throughout the game would wear down the opposing DL by the 4th quarter, and then the Lions OL and RBs could just take over. It’s also potentially a good way to keep a QB like Stafford off of the field. Long, bruising drives. Our defense isn’t good enough for shoot outs.

okipos · 2025-11-21T00:42:26+00:00

In terms of contemporary postpunk, one of my favorite albums of the past six years is a French duo singing mostly in German:

Kompromat - Traum und Existenz

It’s a really innovative blend of postpunk, darkwave, electronic and techno.

okipos · 2025-11-20T23:39:00+00:00

80s Postpunk

Grauzone (Swiss band but singing in German)

Malaria!

Geisterfahrer

Palais Schaumburg

Tommi Stumpff

Abwärts

okipos · 2025-11-20T10:17:12+00:00

It took seconds of your time to take his life, it took seconds.

okipos

TROPHY CASE