re: Why Scientists and extremely smart people are usually socialist/leftist

quote:

---

The quality of life in academia is very comfortable. Teach 2-3 classes a semester, no 8 hour work days, summers off, etc.

---

You have no clue what you are talking about.

I work in Academia (sciences). Most professors in my dept work 60+ hours a week in a pretty stressful setting of research, teaching, and service.

quote:

---

Why Scientists and extremely smart people are usually socialist/leftist

---

Most have very little real world economic experience and most also love government money.

quote:

---

This explains why SpidermanTUba things the way he does.

---

HailHail! How fricking DARE you! The way I thing is between my wife and I!

quote:

---

If true, that is very unusual.

---

I'm telling ya...in my dept you would be hard pressed to find a full-time faculty member work less than 50 hours/6 days a week during the fall/spring semesters. Its non-stop. The research, and competition for funding is a full-time commitment alone, not to mention teaching, service, traveling for conferences, etc hampering efforts.

When I was in Grad School, I used to get emails from my major advisor at all times of day/night. 1, 2, 3 in the A.M. during the week. All he did was work.

To add to this, I know someone that recently landed a full-time position at a prestigious school on the East Coast (in the sciences, not an Ivy League school). She just received tenure, and she told me that up until tenure she literally worked from 6 AM to 7-8 PM, 6 days a week. It can be a huge grind. The 'cushy' academic position is largely a thing of the past. It may exist in some schools and/or some departments, but a blanket statement definitely can not be made. A lot of these people work their asses off. Faculty members are asked to do more and more, with budget cuts, lack of resources, etc.

quote:

---

As a holder of a professional degree(and therefore experience with the "type"), this is pretty much it. Many truly believe they are smart enough to figure out what's best for everyone. They believe that if they read about being a mechanic, they could pass a regulation to make repair shops run better. They don't require experience, just their perfect brains. And for some, the whole time they don't realize how little they think/respect the people they wish to regulate.

---

Ditto.

Working in higher ed for over nearly a decade while attaining a PhD, this is my contribution to this topic.

quote:

---

And God forbid someone thinks differently, you must be crazy.

---

It is worse than that now. Think differently and you can be randomly labeled a racist, homophobe, xenophobe, etc. Doesn't matter what topic it is.

quote:

---

However, in the end they are still by and large generally good people who contribute economically to society, so that's alright by me

---

My problem is that a lot of them do not live in reality. When you are being paid with someone else's money, you think differently. I know my attitude and political views COMPLETELY changed when I got out of the public sector.

quote:

---

also, btw, most engineers lean right. That's because they are expected to get design and implement project without injury or fatality, on a pre-determined budget, and if they don't they are held responsible.

---

This is true. My bro is an engineer. He says this all the time when discussing politics.

quote:

---

Most professors in my dept work 60+ hours a week

---

quote:

---

If true, that is very unusual.

---

That's not true at all, NC. Professors, especially in the physical sciences looking for tenure, often work very hard.

I am Libertarian, so that is one extremely smart person that is not socialist. I am the biggest fan of capitalism you will ever meet.

quote:

---

no 8 hour work days, summers off, etc.

---

Summers off. That's hilarious. To do what?

I know some schools have 10 month contracts - but at LSU I can't think of a single academic I work with who takes summers off.

quote:

---

That's not true at all, NC. Professors, especially in the physical sciences looking for tenure, often work very hard.

---

This is undoubtedly true. This is also true for most careers as a professional. I believe that people that are smart enough to become professors, physicians, lawyers, engineers, etc., should have chosen a career that, for the most part, they enjoy working long work weeks. I had a professor that would find time to work a little bit on holidays, not because he necessarily HAD to, but because he wanted to and loved his job.

Overall there are perks to being a professor, non-tenured or tenured, that are not always present in other careers (flexible daily schedule, summer teaching is extra, only REQUIRED to work when the academic schedule). Obviously, most work much more than required, but they have the flexibility of that schedule.

Not to mention the university setting has additional benefits. My friends with a young daughter recently started at their tenure-track positions at the same university (universities try to do spousal hiring whenever possible). Now they have free daycare for their daughter which saves them a lot of money. Not to mention they have access to other campus resources that would be an additional cost elsewhere (gym, library, software).