Job Discussion Forums

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

46. Too old to be guaranteed good value from a PhD. Olly Reed...yes, great actor and probably underrated.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Deicide · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:02 am Post subject:

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

I am working 2-6PM. Mandarin classes are in the mornings and I study at night.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

deicide

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Not to say that everything I say makes sense but while reading Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre in graduate school. The professor was talking about people marrying for social position. The professor was trying to argue that people don't do that anymore. I guess he has never been to Thailand or Vietnam or been attacked by Thai or Filipino girls looking for a western husband no matter if the guy is old or ugly.

Not to mention there are even the Anna Nicole Smith's of the world right in the United States.

Deicide · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:22 am Post subject:

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

deicide

johnslat · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:23 pm Post subject:

Dear arioch36,
Well, perhaps I'm just being picky:

"After graduating from the University of Delaware in 1965 and from law school at Syracuse University in 1968, Biden moved back to the Wilmington area and set up his own law firm. He practiced law until 1972."

but then, Plain isn't all that familiar with the "real world of work", either:

"Palin briefly worked in broadcasting as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations and with her husband in commercial fishing."

Regards,
John

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Actually, my bio of Biden says he worked as a public defender for a year, in 1969 ran for city council, and won, then from city council in 1970, to U.S Senate. That is, almost immediately after getting his law job he ran for City council. 99% of the Senate have a law practice (exxageration!) Hillary Clinton, theoretically, worked as a lawyer
In this way Biden and Palin are very similar. (I actually do like Biden) Both used their pretty smile (Biden was near the very bottom of his law class, but has always practiced his pretty smile) and immediately went to the top. So does Biden have more real world experience? As I said, the two are very comparable. I give Palin the edge because she did all of this and raised (is raising) five children, which I respect highly. It always bothers me that "feminists" downplay this very real job. She also resigned in protest her commioner job because of corrupt practices of her fellow republicans
She also actually had jobs that were outside of the law to politics path. Working with "real" everday people. If Biden worked a summer doing construction work, I wish they had included it in his bio. Hey, David Lettermen started out as a weatherman! Working in a fishery you are exposed to the other side of the government. Dealing as a businessmen, an owner of a company, you can see real world effects of government regulations
However back to the thread, in my Phd study, I had so many (percentage wise) professors who reminded me of the first President Bush when the then president went to the grocery store to show how he could relate to the ordinary Joe, etc, and looked as out of place as Gov. Dukakis driving a tank. In an ivory tower

Anyways, maybe my analogy was a mistake to make in a presidential race. In grad school I had too many experiences like Jzer relates, professors making comments that anyone with outside experience would never make. Oh, I was in Ed Psych. One of the adjuncts was an actual teacher. Her classes were great. She never relied on buzzwords

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

I don't know much about Ms Palin yet, but she's anti-Polar Bear/environmental protection and pro-Arctic oil exploration/extraction, and she's a member of the Gun Lovers' Association, or whatever it's called, any of which mean she would not get my vote.

Back to the OP, I think that requiring a PhD for senior academic positions at universities is generally fair enough. My problem is that if I start one now I won't finish it until I'm nearly 50, and my guess is that that is too late to get much - or even anything - out of it.

If I have a gripe it's that the TESOL field doesn't offer a direct route into high academia in the way that most disciplines do. Otherwise I would have started a PhD a few years ago, straight after getting my MEd.

I agree with Arioch that there is an 'old boys network' in operation at many universties, especially the 'high-ranking' ones, and that I do not like.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan