Scientist Quit Research because Academia is Toxic

The dark sided of academia is exposed by Sabine Hossenfelder in her video: My dream died, and now I'm here. I think this is a much watch video for everyone who is interested in having a career in scientific research.

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[DrawBioMed]

What is your experience with academia?

[whitemakesright]

"People high in agreeableness do well in academia"

That's a devastating indictment, because that is the exact opposite personality of a true innovator.

[mordazflames]

I am from the Brazilian slums, the favelas, and the only thing that opened doors for me in my life was opening books. I engaged university in 2008, then got a scholarship in 2011 to do research in Canada. Published two book chapters and three papers from that internship. Did a masters in Brazil, then got a scholarship to do my PhD in Scotland. Having scholarships helped me a lot, it allowed me to learn and work on papers. My first postdoc was done in Japan, that was the worst experience of my life. I always had good relationships with my supervisors. But in Japan (the boss was actually American), the situation was so horrible that I considered quitting academia. Now I am on a second postdoc, in the US, and thankfully having a better supervisor now. I am aware that I was able to live in multiple countries and continents because of research, but at the same time, I feel afraid of not getting anything permanent. The academic system sucks in many aspects. If you do research you are often considered not a working person. Especially if you are the only person in your family that does science. People ask when I will start getting money...and I never have the answer. I wish that PhDs and postdocs could receive more working benefits and security. Anyways, I am always thinking about leaving academia but first I need to have good plans to drop out.

[resofactor]

The 'conformity mindset' is blocking and impeding much progress we could be pioneering otherwise.

[Thomas-gk]

I´m a layperson and follow Sabine´s channel for about two years now. Her books both belong to the best I´ve ever read about physics and science. Thank you for your useful addition to her "coming out"- video.

[RamGlez]

Great discussion Jon, I agree with everything you and Sabine said. I think is important for new students to recognize this side of academia before committing to a masters or a PhD. My views have also changed throughout my PhD, and now I think of academia more as a business where scientific production and getting grants is the main objective. I try to work towards that while also remaining ethical and trying to establish good collaborations.

[MusangKing-bo]

"The toxic starts here" sung to the tune of Silent Circle "Touch in the night" song.

A song dedicated to all slave research labourers- PhD/graduate students and
PostDocs (in STEM field) all over the world.

Duet singers Barack and Steven Chu on a middle stage with 5 dancers, all
performing the killer boogie dance.

Barack: I remember all the cries
Barack: It's a secret answer lost in your time
Steven Chu: You, your lonesome eyes are all I wanna know
Steven Chu: Helpless tears can never stop the abuse

Barack: Only you can turn the wheel of life
Steven Chu: Can turn it just this way

Barack and Steven Chu: The buck stops here
Barack: It feels like heaven
Barack and Steven Chu: The toxic starts here
Steven Chu: So lucky doing PhD

Barack and Steven Chu: The buck stops here
Barack: Another secret
Barack and Steven Chu: The toxic starts here
Steven Chu: Whatever I do

Barack and Steven Chu: Supervisors are angels in disguise
Barack and Steven Chu: Deep inside us hide the inner torch
Barack and Steven Chu: Lies, believe in all their promises and their lies
Barack and Steven Chu: But we feel in the end you will lose

Barack: Only you can turn the wheel of life
Steven Chu: Turn it just this way

Most will just end up as disposable academias(you will lose).

[kerzman]

Maybe if Einstein followed a direct academic path, we wouldn't now know his name? I mean, a senior professor may have taken credit?

[serialarchitect]

No, Jon, getting paid to do what you love is how knowledge and humanity progresses and this should be your job in academia. You cannot and you should not compare it to monetising a hobby. Sabina describes a paper-mill toxic research environment where nothing new or innovative is ever produced, as in many cases current projects that get funded are based on flawed fundamental basic principles.

[malariologist]

I completely agree with her. I had the same experiences.

[HumanPP]

In principle I agree with Sabine, only what would be the alternative? There are many things wrong with academia, but we must always remember that in the end it is the only entity capable of doing research independently (this is not always true of research done by private companies). So young researchers must change the system from within, not destroy it, because the alternative is much worse than academia.

[Urix]

Why is Sabina's audio lower quality than her original?

[aquahoodjd]

Jim Al-Kalili I'm very famous and very good science educator who's a professor of physics at the University of Surrey. He said his most cited article was 200 and I started science late in my life and one of my articles has only a hundred and I thought that that was bad but I guess it's not so bad....

[aquahoodjd]

It's all about connections there are millions of smart people it's about being in the right place at the right time with the right skill set and then getting struck by lightning 😁

[aquahoodjd]

She is right the grant / publish and perish paradigm must change for us to propel faster.

[TheDragonRelic]

If you meditate you can summon ufos. This is called CE5 or HICE. I’ve done it before, and so can you. Just meditate for ufos with a Serious and open heart and you’ll get to film your own ufo experience

[n-mi]

Dude, before commenting on her accent you should consider yours...

[lyubaabbud]

"Heavy German accent"? She has an accent but nothing heavy about it.

[aquahoodjd]

It's almost illegal actually because they have to advertise the position to the public even if they've already filled it and this is essentially fraud I'm a lawyer.q

[AlexanderMauricio]

Haha almost become scientific illustrator 😂 I felt that