Hours worked on average day this week: 12
Response to those who say ‘I thought you were on holiday’: unprintable!
I totally sympathize with my colleagues in the school teaching profession who see red mist every time someone mentions their long summer holidays. OK, so on the surface it does seem to be a cushy number that teachers have several weeks over the summer when they are not in the classroom, but for them and us academics that doesn’t mean we are being idle during that time, far from it!
First of all there’s the finishing off of work generated by students from last term. This includes writing references, informing them of their marks, attending endless exam board meetings. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy every minute of it, but many outsiders don’t realise we are still agreeing marks for students on our modules into the third week of July. And then there’s planning for next term, for me of course it’s all change. Starting a new job, getting used to a new university set-up and a new group of colleagues.
I will be running my own modules for the first time ever, and have a small army of hourly-paid and short-term-contract staff to help me. It will be a strange feeling to be the one with the permanent job trying to help others find their first job. Hopefully my experiences will offer hope to the jobseekers of the future, if you stick it out and strategically build your CV then your chance will come along one day!
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