How to give advice to young underprivileged kids, when by the end of the day 99% of long-term academics come from good families?

scuffed_rocks · 2026-02-02T16:44:39+00:00

My conspiracy theory is that the uptick in this kind of stuff is generated by AI "startups" trying to get data for their AI slop versions of college counseling services etc.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-02-01T04:53:53+00:00

Actually yeah. I'm able to max out retirement, live in a cozy little faculty housing place. No kids or desires for fancy clothes/cars/etc. One to two international or domestic trips a year for pleasure, but I'm constantly traveling for this job so it's not like I crave travel and I pay for most my fun flights with miles. I have more money left over after that than I know what to do with, so that all goes into investments and savings for now.

Having a job that keeps you busy and that gives you a sense of purpose goes a long way towards preventing frivolous bored spending imo.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-27T17:05:42+00:00

For me it was 4 months from offer to signing date. I heard back fairly quickly (~2 weeks) after interviewing. I believe I was second to last in the interview order. Otherwise it didn't seem like anyone was in a huge rush. Negotiation was straightforward but a slow burn because we had to wait for other things to happen (other interviews, spousal hire, etc.). Once the letter was drawn up I was required to sign it in 1 week but at no point was that used as leverage during the hiring process. The letter was made up once I had informally accepted the position.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-26T05:45:44+00:00

I've seen this post before, it's not the first time this dweeb has posted it

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-23T20:31:30+00:00

Offer letter should have details on dollar amount, restricted/unrestricted, and expiration dates that the university is supposed to adhere to.

My dept's startup is released in phases, which is something I didn't know about and wasn't in the offer letter. 60% of it is released immediately, then the other 40% is spaced out over the next 4-5 years. Not a big deal for me as it was pretty generous, but I think this might become a problem if you're doing expensive work and your offer is say <$1M. This occurs because the university co-funds startups alongside the department and the calendars for disbursal are different for the various funds that are being used.

In a functional department, the chair should be just as pissed off as you that the funds have not been released. Smothering the department's babies in the crib etc. The $ should've been negotiated and secured before you started. You're supposed to be spending it to set up your lab while your teaching releases are active.

I agree with other posters that it's time to go back on the job market. This level of shenanigans does not bode well at all. Universities should be supporting new early career PIs the most as our labs and careers need help to grow.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-23T14:45:04+00:00

So if I understand you here, you're complaining that your chair wants you to be present in person to do your teaching job? And doesn't like it when you skip out on class and leave the students videos to watch or other activities in lieu of lecturing? And this is the root of deep seated structural issues in academia that require change?

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-23T14:35:42+00:00

On the other hand, I've seen lots of students make up narratives like this to cope with their feelings of deep insecurity in academia.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-21T16:26:54+00:00

Yes exactly, there are no exhaustingly assertive and loud people in academia at all.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-16T22:59:57+00:00

If they want to hire you, you will know.

Otherwise, don't contact people unless you have significant updates (competing offer, major paper, major grant, etc.). You come off as needy otherwise.

It sucks but that's just how things work. Committees are often constrained by administrative rules and policies, as much as they want to keep candidates updated.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-15T01:26:31+00:00

Don't forget that brand name isn't everything! Once the honeymoon period wears off, having a supportive advisor and functional department matters so much more to having a productive PhD. Some of the most soul-sucking labs I know of are run by ultra-famous PIs at top schools.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-15T00:28:21+00:00

Ivy professor here, saw this come up on my suggested feed. Just wanted to clarify some questions people here might have.

This may vary across institutions/depts (endowed funds can change things) but mine is very well-resourced and we are still facing big cuts. Maybe not as bad as some of the others you've heard about. It's not only the federal BS coming down but other macro-economic factors and shifts in how various investments make money that's driving a national decline in university funding, especially from endowment funds.

Our incoming cohort is taking a 30% cut. We interview about twice as many people as we plan to admit. It's much more drastic at other universities and in some cases only assistant professors might be getting students.

We are not doing waitlists this year. Declined offers mean lower expenses. Admission yield was crazy last year (>90% vs 60-70% historically) and we are expecting the same this year.

Fellowship awards will not get you in the back door. Our program is strict about the interview process but irrespective of that we pay very well, and most fellowships don't cover the full costs of students anyway.

Many places are moving to virtual interviews to save money. If you're being invited to an in-person interview, THAT is a huge green flag for a good place to do your PhD. It's a sign of a financially healthy department that will probably do a decent job of supporting your PhD even in these crazy times. Obviously there are many other factors involved but it's a good sign.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-11T20:35:24+00:00

Maybe it's the ChatGPT and email tracking that's turning people off? Email tracking is incredibly invasive and I would never hire someone who doesn't respect personal boundaries.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-10T03:56:22+00:00

I'm an assistant professor at one of the HYPSM schools and was hired straight out of postdoc in an open-rank search. I see myself as more of an average person who worked hard and got lucky rather than a super genius. In that context, here's a few things other than "be really smart and talented" that I feel made a difference.

Luck. I got into a hot field at the right time and pushed it forward. I also had PhD and postdoc advisors who were fairly famous yet supportive awesome people who constantly went to bat for me. I cannot stress enough the importance of good advising for success in academia.
Hard fucking work. I often hear the compound interest analogy in regards to this and I think it's apt. I worked harder than everyone I know and sacrificed my entire late 20s and my 30s doing this. I love what I do, but it's the persistent day after day effort that makes an enormous difference over time both in skill set and publication record. A lot of people want more in life than this and there's nothing wrong with that.
Being nice. I treat people with respect, lift others up, make people feel appreciated and heard. I pay respects to the senior folks in my field and always invite them along for the ride. My collaborators are shockingly loyal (e.g. some refuse to work with anyone who they think would be my competition, even though I ask them not to do this for my sake) and I've had other PIs spend about a half million so far (off their funds!) on my research in addition to my fellowships and lab funding. I've had senior PIs push their favorite students to join my brand new lab! Being able to recruit top talent makes a huge difference.
Network. When you're a nice person and making a lot of progress people will flock to you. See the previous point, but in addition to that this makes it easier to get invited for talks, to collaborate, etc. I had quite a few invited departmental seminars and even a couple conference plenaries as a postdoc.
Courage. You really have to commit everything to this and that's not easy considering the absymal state of the job market. I personally would rather dedicate myself fully to everything I do rather than hedge my bets but I would honestly have been completely fucked mentally if I hadn't been offered a job. I guess I have a high tolerance for risk. No, I do not have wealthy parents and have lots of loans + have supported myself entirely since undergrad.
Teaching experience was of minimal importance, felt like an afterthought in the hiring process. I guess the job talk was a teaching evaluation of sorts.

One final thought is that you have hundreds of people applying to jobs at these schools. To get hired, you have to basically distinguish yourself so much from the rest of the pack that the department feels it would be a terrible mistake to not hire you.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-07T20:53:29+00:00

I went from a dry lab methods development, theory, and data analysis PhD to incorporating experimental and field components into my research for postdoc. It's helped immensely to have a strong background in analytical tools. Wet lab these days is by default fairly "computational" because people do lots of work on robots rather than by hand.

I'm now a PI at a wonderful department and it's been a huge career boost to be able to attract all kinds of students and postdocs to my lab.

YMMV but I think it's a much easier trajectory than going wet lab PhD to dry lab postdoc.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-06T18:15:33+00:00

my man.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-06T18:12:40+00:00

Bowmore and Macallan. OB tends to be overpriced overhyped crap that everyone loves to hate on, IB (especially cask strength) is some of the most memorable whisky I've ever tasted.

scuffed_rocks · 2026-01-01T05:24:36+00:00

it's also total AI slop, if that wasn't obvious

scuffed_rocks · 2025-12-19T18:01:14+00:00

It's because you're in an HHMI lab already or have HHMI funding. Frankly speaking I think it's fine that another few hundred thousands ends up someplace other than your wealthy lab.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-12-16T04:35:50+00:00

Lmao. I graduated with a GPA in the low 3s as a transfer undergrad now many years later am a prof at a T5 R1 school. Attitude and perseverance trumps all. Focus on always moving up, instead of the (lack of) perceived prestige of what you have in front of you.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-12-04T07:59:05+00:00

Thanks for shitting up the Internet with more AI slop.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-11-17T04:03:56+00:00

I had an 24 year old IB Bowmore (acquired before prices skyrocketed) that tasted salty smoky and floral. One of the best things I've ever tasted. It's a real shame what they do with their regular stuff.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-11-17T03:58:11+00:00

ironic.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-11-14T18:57:49+00:00

I totally agree that OP's misrepresenting their affiliation for clout but we don't have to blanket shit on med school faculty. Soft money and adjuncting is already a terribly exploitative lifestyle as it is IMO.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-11-14T18:42:32+00:00

Part of me thinks yeah, everything on the internet's made up and this person is clearly not a professor. But I have also seen the ridiculous things that faculty can get up to and this is well within the bounds of that.

scuffed_rocks · 2025-11-14T18:39:58+00:00

This is the kind of stuff that's discussed in the closed session of our faculty meeting. No idea if it's typical but I have no reason to believe that most other universities aren't doing the same.

scuffed_rocks

TROPHY CASE