POLITICS Democrats More Positive About Socialism Than Capitalism

Yeah, I watched my dad, the businessman, come home every day stressed out from his job, but able to afford a 3 story house in Farragut after chasing the American Dream from a his relatively poor roots in rural Wisconsin. I decided I'd choose a job I enjoy over money, knew very quickly I loved history, pursued the wildly profitably job market for history majors and ended up in the low stress job of high school teacher. It's alright, though. I'd rather do this than have been a miserable lawyer making 6 figures, which was my other choice. I do hate reading legal summations.

 

I'd love to get your perspective on that, Uni. My middle son swears that he wants to teach history either in HS or be a college professor. I have talked to him about other professions but he seems dead set.

 

I mean, if you want your son to become Uni, encourage it!

 

49% of Republicans think Russia is an ally.

You think 49% support Democrats?


https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/18/how-the-gop-became-the-party-of-putin-215387

I can play the nuance game, too.

 

STAY AWAY FROM TEACHING ANYTHING!

Do something where he can make some money.

 

I think approaching "professor" as a job is a huge mistake. If he wants to write and research history, and doesn't mind teaching to help pay for that habit, great. But professorships are how scholars eat, being a professor without wanting the scholar part is dooming one's self to misery.

 

There’s a part of me that wants to get the accounting PhD and go make my 200k at a school where the research demands aren’t huge.

 

Good luck

 

It’s not a very difficult thing to do. The question is if I’m willing to subject myself to the PhD program. Right now I’m not and I doubt I’ll get there.

 

If you think working on a PhD is something you don't want to subject yourelf to, why would generating multiple publications a year be?

 

That seems high for a university where research demands aren’t high. You confident in that number? Also is that full prof vs assoc or assistant I’m guessing?

 

Aim for something easier, like CFO of a multi billion dollar company.

 

I think you’re overestimating how difficult it is to make 200k as an accounting professor.

 

This should be the aspiration of all young men.

 

I think you are overestimating demand and underestimating supply.

 

I watched MANY hours of weather channel and read every Popular Science-esque article I could find on weather. I learned about Dr. Gray at about 13 yrs old or so and got interested in watching for Sahara desert dust forecasts and ocean temperatures. But I had no examples of meteorologists around me to talk to and didn’t like the idea of being a TV meteorologist so I moved on from that. Had I realized the actual career options there I might have stuck with that.

I read Richard Rhodes’ Making of the Atomic Bomb at about 15 and became fascinated with the ‘pure sciences’ and nuclear science. After that I gobbled up anything I could find nuclear rated and became convinced that I wanted to be a nuclear engineer.

I went to my cousin’s college graduation party in Atlanta when I was a junior in HS and a family friend of my aunt and uncle who was a nuclear engineer talked to me. He didn’t straight up discourage me from it but suggested that career flexibility would be much higher with something like chemical engineering.

I’m pretty sure I left Atlanta that weekend with the decision that I’d pursue chemical engineering. Ultimately I did that through my doctorate. I love the field and I find it incredibly flexible.

I never seriously considered a field outside of science or engineering. I always found medical doctors to be disappointing - probably because I don’t have great examples in small town Crossville. In contrast, I had no examples of these other fields so I could imagine what someone who pursued that might do. Medicine felt too rote.

I didn’t remotely consider law - plenty of poor examples of small town lawyers to be turned off from that. I found some of them to be plenty smart - but I was fairly convinced they used it for evil.

I also never in a million years considered business. In retrospect I think I could have gotten into it but again I didn’t know enough to know enough. I think business was going to be something I had to find my way into through time. Science was going to be my first love and it was going to take me time to understand the interplay between business and science.

So I largely fell into a major and discipline that I’ve always enjoyed. Lucky I guess. Now I mainly do business and public policy - but relying heavily on my technical training. I find that to be a fun intersection.

I think that I would have also enjoyed a career in the military. I actually did hierarchy even when I’m not at the top of it. Unfortunately, the first pitch I listened to was from the marines and they ruined it for me. They presented their typical pitch which didn’t hit the audience at all and I was too much of a [penis] to give the other branches a chance. I had planned on applying to the naval academy but didn’t even bother after that pitch.

I’m happy with how it played out but I have what ifs related to military service.

 

I don’t think so.

 

Wow, I relate to some of this very strongly.

 

https://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/youngcpanetwork/resources/career/acareerineducation.html
This seems to indicate it takes being at a top 50 research university and making 2/9 of their salary from summer research... which is damn hard but something a professor at a top 50 university is probably skilled and talented enough to do... and they make it look easy. Do you have some grant writing experience?


https://www1.salary.com/Professor-Accounting-Salary.html
This site doesn't have accounting professors reaching that 200k threshold. Also, just glancing at the geographic markets, it might be that the best standard of living is somewhere in the middle of the pay spectrum located away from the Northeast and California.

I'm telling you, the market for PhD's is smaller than the number of PhD's kicking around. I don't want to underestimate you or put you in a box, but you better really want this path and not just perceive it as "easy" or defined. Who are the people you have met in the accounting world that you admire the most or seem the most successful? Probably professors you've had because you are a fairly young guy and have gone through undergrad and grad programs. Just be sure this is what you want and not just what is familiar or seems "easy." Because it isn't. You could get the PhD if you are reasonably bright and willing to do the work, and then never sniff a top 50 university. It is a small number of openings in any given year with all sorts of factors out of your control in the hiring process. And every year you fail to get a spot, a new crop of competition arrives with fresher ideas and research. Far more likely you'll end up a smaller school making less than 100k. Academia is growing from the bottom, not the top. Tenured positions are being taken away, not added.

Again, I'm not trying to shit on you. Just be wide awake going in.

 

Depending on where, he's dead on.

Lots of demand in the entire accounting discipline right now, from first year staff to professors and everywhere in between.