Lotteries, Meritocracies, Tables, etc.

This is one of the better attempts to describe the underlying problem with the current academic job market I've seen in some time (and also works well as a follow-up to/context for Maybelle's recent post, with its nose-to-the-bakery window/place at the table metaphor.  Besides, it uses the ever-popular snowflake metaphor, though in a more positive way than it is usually employed around here).   Here's the part that resonated most strongly for me:

There are comments on Lee Skallerup’s Bessette’s essay suggesting the blame lies with the individuals pursuing these jobs, for not seeing the writing on the wall, or recognizing the PhD glut, or thinking that they’re “special snowflakes” when they’re not.

Here’s the thing though. Someone like Lee Skallerup Bessette has already proved she’s a “special snowflake.” She has a full-time job. She’s a dedicated and even innovative teacher. The problem is that she, like so many others, has a job in a system that doesn’t provide sufficient or equitable compensation and it’s wearing her out.

Who can blame her?

By accepting that the jobs we want are the result of a “lottery,” we give a pass to the fact that we’ve created a system where anything short of winning that lottery is unsustainable.

In which Self of Steam Deflates

This week's Sunday comic is a Doonesbury flashback.