The intelligent option
The facts speak for themselves: become a London tube driver and you will be better off financially than an Oxford University lecturer. And this is before one takes into account the often disturbing amount of debt that must be incurred in order to reach the upper echelons of academia. However if you still yearn for a scholarly career amidst libraries and lecture theatres that will be more favourable on your bank balance, do not despair: in America, a professor earns almost one and a half times as much as his or her counterpart in the UK, and this difference is set to increase if the proposed pay reforms are brought into effect here.
It is little wonder, therefore, that our lecturers are set to strike next week. We students should support their stance. The qualifications needed in order to take up an academic post involve a serious, long-term commitment, and more importantly, lecturers provide a crucial service through their research, as well as their teaching. Though rewards of prestige and respect may still prevail, these should surely be matched with a decent salary if British universities are to attract brilliant academics into their fold. In the current situation, it is understandable that so many graduates would rather 'sell their soul' to the City or take their ambitions abroad; there are few temptations to keep them among the dreaming spires. This is unfortunate, and the trend should be stopped. British universities should not let their financial worries result in them being crippled intellectually as well.
19th Feb 2004