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Comment by pbuzbee | Hacker News Reader

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pbuzbee·

> No one in their sane mind would retire [...] in this environment.

Why is this a bad time for a faculty member to retire?

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Tenured faculty jobs are low-risk, low-stress positions (or can be made to be, based on the professor's preferences).

Retirement is an even lower risk and lower stress position :)

Let's put things in perspective: tenure positions are seen as a kin of retirement: you do what you love and at your own pace, and are paid generously for the privilege.

The only impact of retirement is that you cease to be paid generously, and also you lose status.

What about the stories of tenured professors being essentially managers and grant-chasers for their unit? Doesn't sound low-stress to me.

That's essentially only necessary if you want grant money or want to be seen as a team player (and get promoted, and not have your colleagues be annoyed with you, etc)

Being seen as pariah/weirdo in an environment you spend 40+ hours per week in does not like the best working arrangement...

They don't stand to lose their jobs if they don't bring in enough "customers" - which is quite different to comparable jobs outside of academia.

That would be one of my professors from grad school. At the time I was there, his teaching load was 2 courses a year, or maybe 3? The only reason 3 is sticking in my head is because he teaches the course he literally wrote the book on, during the summer.

Not a bad way to spend one's 70s, is it?

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