[awkwardtortoise]

In academia, only those who get tenured professorships are sitting pretty. And they get to sit pretty for decades. Everyone else has to hustle to get their crumbs. I know people who are teaching adjuncts and they get paid crumbs ( $2 or $3K PER SEMESTER ). This is at a highly competitive university where tuition + board is $80K. I could not believe it.

[copperx]

3K per semester with an advanced degree? That's insane. You earn more being a graduate student. Is that a non-STEM field? A regular job would be a much better option.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Yes, it is insane.

Universities have become sweatshops. There are a handful of tenured foremen/women, but everyone else is busking it.

The students are psrt of the cash crop, investment income, donations from alumni, and grants make up the rest.

Original thinking and game-changing research have been deprecated.