Academics Chat Thread

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I believe the old Chat thread has fallen off the front page of this section, and I thought it might be time to reinstate it. I know it's only sporadically useful, but sometimes it's nice, right?

I am a lowly postdoctoral English Lit type. Finished my PhD in 2014, teaching associate for a couple of years, and now part-time while DD is a baby. I'm currently working frantically to get my book manuscript to the publisher by my deadline (October), and also trying to regain enthusiasm for the job market.

Who else is lurking around here?

I've had gin and a bike ride (not in that order).

Gah! Wrong thread! Sorry!

Still not going in tomorrow and still feeling panicky at the thought of email.

Oh, Worst, you don’t sound in a good way. Do you have a partner who could check your emails and alert you to anything urgent or important?

I'll see if I can face them tomorrow and if not I'll ask DH.

Oh, worst, sorry to hear about everything. Is there OH or anyone not in your line management you can talk to? (although I know our OH was worse than useless... but I hear they can be useful some places) Or just get signed off and someone else will do it. Is it like this across your whole Uni, or are other departments better? Someone might take notice if people keep going off! (although, again, at ours there is a Dept that is notorious for bad management but unfortunately the person in charge is too senior for anyone to do anything about)

never - where I am, when you get to "Ask D" or "Ask E", the answer is usaully "Ask A" again!! You feel like surely this has been done before, how can no one know?

Right now I'm not wanting to engage in any person-related activity, including email. Did manage to email a few students, but I've got some posters to work on and I think I'll do those and hope most of my email can wait until tomorrow...

Signed off for two weeks.
I'm coping with emailing the nice admin person so I'll communicate with her for the moment.

Wishing you better worst. Some nice long walks in the autumn sunshine are much better than nasty email threads.

Very true. I do fancy a nice walk.

Another one wishing you well worst. Walks are good. Trying ( and failing ATM) to psych myself up for a run.

Well how is everyone enjoying the new academic year? It’s day one and already my new head of department has emailed all staff, inviting us to an all staff meeting at 19.15 in a few weeks time. I’m senior enough to refuse (though I’d really like to tell him to take a running jump), but what about junior staff? Or people with caring responsibilities et cetera? What sort of person thinks this is a good idea? I suppose my more macho colleagues will say it’s a good opportunity for a drink and to socialise after. .. this is the sort of invisible barrier that stops equality.

I'm tired.

Like many other places we have massive restructuring, which means no one actually know who does what, and any trivial thing, like printing a document, even, takes for-fucking-ever.

And the consolidation of small departments into big ones - that means all admin jobs are huge. Doesn't that impact on, say, part-timers? If I took on one of those jobs it's goodbye to my research. I suppose that means job-sharing ... I really don't want to think about anything. I want to hibernate. And it's only just started...

A staff meeting at 19 :15????

My place has ridiculous teaching hours - 08:30 to 18:30, but 19:15. No effing way. My brain goes off at 7pm, and then I listen to The Archers, then I go home. Or usually, the gym.

Your HoD cannot be serious and someone should complain to HR.

I know, someone should complain, but our HR department is practically toothless. Just to add insult to injury, we’ve got the (in my cynicism I believe meaningless) Athena Swan award for, amongst other things, our supposedly family friendly environment.

And yes absolutely that’s supper time chez impostersyndrome, accompanied by The archers.

And neverever, take care with that tiredness not to catch freshers flu. I’m sure that’s the last thing you need.

And yes absolutely that’s supper time chez impostersyndrome, accompanied by The archers

Well, you could go to the meeting with a really smelly smoked fish supper dish. And eat noisily throughout, not ceasing chewing when making a long and expressive point.

Or just not go ... Send apologies, saying you started work at 7am (which is when I do start work ...)

I've detidied the house and watched a lot of daytime TV.
I can't remember if I said I'm thinking of reducing my hours - the DCs need me a bit more temporarily too and it should reduce the number of ridiculous tasks.

I'm wondering about being open on my SM about this, and likewise I could easily suggest some adjustments to management that could have prevented this but I bet nobody would listen. But some more admin hours to make sure we do actually all know what each other do and if someone goes it can be picked up - not relying on us to write it down clearly. And, you know, not hiding things from us.

Thank you imposter. I shall try to stay away from the germy freshers as much as possible.

Good luck Worst and be kind to yourself.

New academic year is looking excellent here. I've just moved to start a new fellowship. The institute have known I've been coming for all of about 8 months, but I arrive to a visible 'oh shit we forgot about you'. Upshot: no contract, no office, no pay, no access card, no chance of an advance, no printer, no key, no right to use the canteen. Throw in the panic because I somehow need to find a fixed address in a crazy expensive city by the end of October in case of Brexit with no money in the bank. Oh, and a non-English speaking HR department who refuse to answer phones or email. Aaarrrrghhhh! I might turn to the bottle (if I had any money!)

The department seems lovely though. I'm trying to work out what they put in the (free, high quality!) coffee. Cynicism seems in short supply, people smile in the corridors and everyone willingly goes to seminars. I've never worked anywhere this cheerful! The only thing I have to complain about it the weird institutionally cheerful orange walls everywhere (and the admin department).

OMG, I could have written half of your post lekker, though your situation sounds considerably worse!

I'm starting a fellowship last week. I've known I'd got it since April and first the funders then the HR team were being absolutely bloody useless and making me jump through utterly bonkers hoops (which of course I did, because I need the job). I do have the contract but no staff card/email etc., and looks as if they won't be sorted for a month at the least, unless I can get someone to bend the rules for me.

Luckily it looks as if my expensive foreign city will accept air B&B as an address for some things, which is great, so I don't have to panic-rent somewhere yet.

I'm also getting really nervy as I've been home with my DD for the past year (she's been part-time at nursery), and suddenly I'm going to disappear for a week. Fingers crossed it goes ok.

Otherwise I am quite excited to be getting back into proper academia. I've just got my final reader report back for my first book and so, so glad the second one won't be written around a toddler!

Oh, and @impostersyndrome, that reminds me of when our new Head of Department tried to show how right-on he was by organising a meeting for all the postdocs to come along and air their grievances.

At 7pm.

When someone commented they had to leave early, he was bemused ... surely none of us had responsibilities like adults, did we?

Responsibilities, or families, or chronic sickness, or long commutes making it bloody dangerous to travel home late , perish the thought.

Or even, as someone I heard say recently, a hinterland (I think that’s a fancy way of saying hobbies).

NB maybe i presume the post docs didn’t dare add timing of meetings to the agenda.

I think that’s a fancy way of saying hobbies

Everybody has the right to a private domestic life, whomever they live with or are responsible for. And hobbies. I leave for mine at 5:30pm on the dot 2 nights a week.

I've detidied the house
:) love your turn of phrase, worst. Un-MN-y hugs to you.

19:15, What????? Honestly, imposter, if you can complain to someone I would. That's completely irresponsible. Even if it's just bringing it up to your Equality & Diversity lead - you must have one if there's an Athena SWAN award?

lekker, that sounds terrible. I hope they get that sorted for you pronto.

I'm just coming out the other side (I hope) of fresher's flu. I meet near 100 of them in the first week, and despite very carefully washing my hands before eating and many other times throughout the day and not touching my face, I still managed to come down with something.

Currently at a conference and feeling a bit depressed about it. I look too young. I decided to come to enact the "make more contacts in the research community" advice I got from my failed promotion. But the only people who accept my approach and conversational gambits are postdocs and postgrads. Nothing wrong with that in isolation - I enjoy talking with them, but it's not going to help me get "known"! Profs and people at my level say something nice and bland and turn back to their peers (of which I'm one, but clearly they're not noticing it). People also standing around in Uni-based cliques making it hard to join in.

Ironically, the only people I actually already know at this conference are the Head and Deputy Head of the big research thing-y that's running it (Deputy Head is a senior colleague who pointed the meeting out to me, knowing my promotion feedback). I've chatted with them a bit, but as they are busy running the meeting, they've not got much time to chat. One prof yesterday did ask near the end of the day "What position do you have at X Uni?" in a bit of a mystified tone, I think perhaps as I may have said something casually about "my students" and it didn't mesh with his assumptions of me. He seemed considerably less patronising after that, but it was the end of the day. I may seek him out for more conversation today and maybe I'll break into the people I'm supposed to be getting my existence out to.

I wouldn't say the house was tidy before! We lost our cleaner (which isn't helping my state of mind) and I'm trying to get the things that are in the wrong place into the right place but it's more of an excavation than housework.
I'm feeling a bit hopeless about my long term work prospects but maybe I need to feel worse before I feel better.