the root of all evil

[fflo]

I just came across a link to a page that lets you search U. Mich. salaries by employee. The only names I could think of to look up were professors in English (and the variations): dang, they're not doing too bad! Well, the profs and associates, anyway---the adjunct are probably screwed.

Even though there's a lot about that world I am glad not to be involved with and subject to, those big dollar signs are making me think again about the stuff I would have liked about the academic life. The top three:

   I.  To a certain extent, your very business is ideas.
  II.  The schedule is extremely flexible.
 III.  Each year/semester, even if you just stay in one place, the new comes to you.
       Renewal is built in, in the form of new classes and fresh studentin.

I don't usually think "and the money could be good"---but I guess, if you prevail in the crap shoot, it can.

As far as the site being a bummer for U. folk who'd just as soon their salaries weren't snooped at, I can see that, but mostly it reminds me of when my father didn't want to sign my financial aid paperwork because it was nobody's business what he made---when anybody who wanted to know coulda looked it up, as it was a matter of public record. (My mother solved the problem by quietly forging his signature.)

Comments

[groovesinorbit]

Thanks for the link! (adds to her stalking bookmarks) I guess that's a down side of working for a state school--the salaries being public. Makes sense from a taxpaying point of view, though. We just got our town report for this year. It lists all the salaries of the town gov't folk.