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The Cambridge Chat Thread's Starter for Ten - 'No, you lose five points!'

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:ditto:
Reply 1481
Original post by Wathen
Dare I say . . . exam thread?


I think Tripos-sitting TSRians are rare nowadays, but I'm in favour of this.

The Fear isn't coming naturally, so I've relaxed all break...
Original post by alex_hk90
What is/was CamDATA?


The university's collection of basic data and statistics for their courses.
Oh good, the thread has been started :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by ebam_uk
How are you finding working life in general... like compared with uni!?


Mehbleh. It's not the work as such - that's civilised enough - it's more the industry that I work in. I work in TV and it all works on the basis of short-term contracts. I start a new one next week for about four months but I don't like having to worry several times a year about where the next job might be coming from and spending the last month of a contract sending an updated CV to all of the companies I've previously contacted to remind them that I exist. Sometimes I wonder whether I picked the right career :redface:
Original post by Chess Piece Face
Mehbleh. It's not the work as such - that's civilised enough - it's more the industry that I work in. I work in TV and it all works on the basis of short-term contracts. I start a new one next week for about four months but I don't like having to worry several times a year about where the next job might be coming from and spending the last month of a contract sending an updated CV to all of the companies I've previously contacted to remind them that I exist. Sometimes I wonder whether I picked the right career :redface:


I guess it's probably a case of "the grass is greener" but I'd quite like having some time off between projects. :dontknow:
Original post by alex_hk90
I guess it's probably a case of "the grass is greener" but I'd quite like having some time off between projects. :dontknow:


Depends how much money you have though! Luckily I'm in a permanent job but with the pay I'm on (which I suspect isn't that different to CPF's pay) I would be very nervous about having any job uncertainty as I wouldn't be able to pay my rent or bills if I spent even a few weeks out of work.


Posted from TSR Mobile
:ditto: Anyway, I'm not sure it really counts as 'free time' if its (a) spent worrying about the future, and (b) filled with frantic attempts to apply for new projects/grants etc.

I'm a little bit worried about that feature of academic life myself.

Mind you, if you wanted free time, you really should have chosen a different career, alex :wink:

I think the ideal is something that combines both security and flexibility, but that's so difficult to achieve these days.
Reply 1488
Original post by Craghyrax
I think the ideal is something that combines both security and flexibility
I believe GCHQ offers flexi-time.
Original post by Zoedotdot
Depends how much money you have though! Luckily I'm in a permanent job but with the pay I'm on (which I suspect isn't that different to CPF's pay) I would be very nervous about having any job uncertainty as I wouldn't be able to pay my rent or bills if I spent even a few weeks out of work.


Posted from TSR Mobile



Would you feel comfortable breaking down your salary vs cost of living... if you dont wanna say actual numbers but what % of your monthly income goes on rent etc?
Original post by alex_hk90
I guess it's probably a case of "the grass is greener" but I'd quite like having some time off between projects. :dontknow:


It's nice in theory... but I want money! Right now I'm justifying it by saying that when I'm working I faff less: that if I get up in the morning and can pursue three or four hours' worth of extracurriculars then that's better than not getting anything done at all... I do have some sympathy with the idea of time off between jobs, but I'd enjoy that more at an assistant producer rate, rather than a researcher one, thank you very much. :tongue:

Original post by Zoedotdot
Depends how much money you have though! Luckily I'm in a permanent job but with the pay I'm on (which I suspect isn't that different to CPF's pay) I would be very nervous about having any job uncertainty as I wouldn't be able to pay my rent or bills if I spent even a few weeks out of work.Posted from TSR Mobile


I'm fortunate in that I live with my parents in London, so I'm saving on rent and bills, though I'm hoping to move out within the year. My best bet is to find some form of stability within what I'm doing... TV-wise, the goal for me is to get a role at the BBC: it's much easier to get lost inside the corporation for years and I would be more than happy to do so...
Original post by Craghyrax
:ditto: I'm a little bit worried about that feature of academic life myself.


I considered academia but then I decided against it. I keep reading about people like Margaret Mary Vojtko and that 'being an academic vs being a drug dealer' post that was going around... I realise this isn't helping (and certainly in Vojtko's case that article isn't the whole story - there was a personality dimension too, as Slate explained) but I admire your fortitude in taking the academic plunge!
Original post by ebam_uk
Would you feel comfortable breaking down your salary vs cost of living... if you dont wanna say actual numbers but what % of your monthly income goes on rent etc?


About 55% of my income goes on my rent, bills and monthly travel card. After I put a little towards my pension (as my employer doesn't make any pension contributions) and some in savings for emergencies/treats there's not a huge amount left! London is expensive.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Zoedotdot
Depends how much money you have though! Luckily I'm in a permanent job but with the pay I'm on (which I suspect isn't that different to CPF's pay) I would be very nervous about having any job uncertainty as I wouldn't be able to pay my rent or bills if I spent even a few weeks out of work.


True. My costs are relatively low so I wouldn't mind trading off some money for holiday; we have a scheme for doing that (up to 10 extra days) but I wasn't eligible as I didn't use all my holiday last year (too busy with projects :rolleyes:) - this year I'll be sure to use all my holiday. :smile:

Original post by Craghyrax
Mind you, if you wanted free time, you really should have chosen a different career, alex :wink:

I think the ideal is something that combines both security and flexibility, but that's so difficult to achieve these days.


Once I have enough experience I'd be tempted by becoming an independent contractor - not as secure for sure but looking at the rates clients pay that shouldn't matter. :nah:

Original post by harr
I believe GCHQ offers flexi-time.

Interesting. :holmes:

Original post by ebam_uk
Would you feel comfortable breaking down your salary vs cost of living... if you dont wanna say actual numbers but what % of your monthly income goes on rent etc?

I just had a look at my accounts for 2013 (calendar year) and for me it breaks down something like:
- 24% on direct taxation (income tax, national insurance);
- 25% on rent, council tax and utilities (including internet and mobile phone);
- 9% on food (both groceries and eating out);
- 4% on entertainment;
- 3% on public transport (underground, trains, etc.);
- around 12% (no individual category greater than 2.5%) on various other expenses (holiday, student loan interest, charity, etc.).

Original post by Chess Piece Face
It's nice in theory... but I want money! Right now I'm justifying it by saying that when I'm working I faff less: that if I get up in the morning and can pursue three or four hours' worth of extracurriculars then that's better than not getting anything done at all... I do have some sympathy with the idea of time off between jobs, but I'd enjoy that more at an assistant producer rate, rather than a researcher one, thank you very much. :tongue:

Well hopefully you will get to enjoy that at an assistant producer rate (or why not just a producer rate?) in the not too distant future. :h:
Ebam, that's surely a bit of a misleading question when how much you spend on rent varies wildly according to where you work. My PhD stipend stretched a lot further in Norwich than it does in Ely.
Original post by Chess Piece Face

I considered academia but then I decided against it. I keep reading about people like Margaret Mary Vojtko and that 'being an academic vs being a drug dealer' post that was going around... I realise this isn't helping (and certainly in Vojtko's case that article isn't the whole story - there was a personality dimension too, as Slate explained) but I admire your fortitude in taking the academic plunge!

Thanks, but I don't really have much of a choice. I simply can't work with people all day every day. I have to go for a job that allows me autonomy in terms of how I do my work, and the possibility of having some control to dictate when I work with others and how much. Academic teaching is fine, because there's a very clear role and clear distribution of power in that task. I disseminate information, other people come to me for help with their work. That's it. Similarly, faculty meetings take up a lot of time, but again the interaction is very structured. You take time out of your actual work to attend these, and so it doesn't interfere with your control over what you're doing. Finally, collaboration with other researchers is again something that each party has a lot of space and control with (I've begun doing this, so this isn't pure speculation). A lot of the communication would be by email, file sharing, etc, with occasional face to face meetings to brain storm. But despite these interactions, its a world apart from an office job where you're in a big open plan office and people are marching up to your desk and interrupting you constantly, or the phone is ringing every five mins. Even in this detailed study of the break down of tasks in academic work it seems that academics spend 57% of their work time alone, on average. I predict that I may have to work in teaching focused positions at the start, but as long as I can be assured of working up towards a more mixed role, that would be fine. I teach quite a lot at the moment, and I enjoy it, even though it is very exhausting.
I came across that article a week or two ago and was so sad. Yes personality may be a factor, but lets not forget gender! Academia is no exception to the norm in there being a culture of passing over women for promotion to more senior and secure positions. Also, there is a snobbery against teaching focused work in favour of research (which really needs rethinking, since both are absolutely vital to the security of departments), and women are often relegated to teaching rather than research roles. I think that that whole adjunct thing is worse in the US than it is here. I can't find it now, but I saw a very interesting table which compared Europe, the US and the UK in terms of how amenable the job market conditions were for academics at different stages of their careers. So I think it showed something like the US being better for PhDs in terms of available funding, time of PhD, opportunities to gain relevant experience and so on. Whereas for the early career to middle stretch, its the worst place in the world. By contrast, the UK is a bit hairy for PhDs, but better for early careers... or something like that anyway. Most people such as myself who are intent on pursuing academia are already resigned to having to face a few years of job insecurity. However, I do think that people eventually break through. And if its three year contracts that's a completely different thing to face than one year contracts. Vitally, I'm married, and my partner also plans to go into academia. While some might thing this sounds very precarious indeed, I think that there's a good chance that between the two of us, one of us will always be employed, and be in a position to tide the other one over for short stretches between jobs. Furthermore, because we both have the same career goals, it means we are open to moving to different countries in order to progress. This might not be possible if you were partnered to someone who was rooted very firmly to one place. And being willing to consider European jobs also widens the field a bit. If I were single, I may rethink the risk. However, again, I do think that I'm much better suited to academic work than to most other jobs I know of. The only alternatives I can think of (policy consultant, think tank researcher etc.) would require a significant investment in gaining relevant experience, internships and so on for a much higher risk.

Original post by alex_hk90
x

That sounds alright then! I just can't wrap my head around the idea of these jobs where you get only 3 hours of sleep a night for years :headfire: Have you seen the research on what that does to your health? I mean, its peoples' own lives. I don't want to judge how they prioritise things. But just for myself, it sounds horrendous.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 1495
Original post by Craghyrax
you're in a big open plan office and people are marching up to your desk and interrupting you constantly, or the phone is ringing every five mins
Ah, memories...
Original post by harr
Ah, memories...

:biggrin: I forget what you're doing instead these days.
And yeh, I temped before coming to Cambridge, so I have a few memories myself.
Reply 1497
Original post by Craghyrax
I forget what you're doing instead these days.
Studying. Or at least I'm meant to be... This really is like old times. I don't think that I would be cut out for a job that requires a lot of independence.

I might be doing some statistical work in the summer. It looks like I'm going to discuss it just before lunch though, so my chances are poor.
Original post by harr
Studying. Or at least I'm meant to be... This really is like old times. I don't think that I would be cut out for a job that requires a lot of independence.

I might be doing some statistical work in the summer. It looks like I'm going to discuss it just before lunch though, so my chances are poor.

This time I guessed where that link would lead before following it. For once.
And awesome! Not that I'm biased.
Original post by Craghyrax
That sounds alright then! I just can't wrap my head around the idea of these jobs where you get only 3 hours of sleep a night for years :headfire: Have you seen the research on what that does to your health? I mean, its peoples' own lives. I don't want to judge how they prioritise things. But just for myself, it sounds horrendous.

I haven't seen the research but I would tend to agree with you here. I guess it's a case of "live fast, die young". :dontknow:

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