Ivory towers of academia? When was that?

Update: I have been teaching summer school, two classes in a 20-day period, so it takes up most of my energy. QEP has been put aside but must be resurrected. I am concerned about fatigue. Today I am wearing a heart monitor (I do once a year) because of a past procedures; it may tell me something.

Whoever said college professors live in ivory towers? That was long before my time. We are as affected by the market as anyone. I work, grocery shop, pay taxes, deal with personalities and deadlines, cut my grass, clean toilets, just like everyone else. The only difference I see is that my job is not 9-5. Sometimes it's 10-12; sometimes it's 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. I don't get a lunch break. And we make much less money than is thought. I may be in the minority, but at our school even some Ph.D.s make less than I do, which isn't much, and we might be furloughed.

But I have the greatest job in the world, and I work at a wonderful institution. I truly mean that.

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