The term "expat"

[baka_janai]

I can certainly understand the two-body problem, being part of an academic couple myself. Good luck to you.

My wife and I go through periods where "what we got" definitely looks better than "what we might end up with in the US" -- then at other times the frustration wins out and I feel like taking a job at McDonald's just to be back with the family.

At the moment we are in a "this is better than that" period so I haven't applied for the last year.  The fact that I didn't happen to do my dissertation in a "trendy" area like testing theory or K-12 literacy makes it harder.  A couple of years ago I did get to the phone interview stage at the university I did my MA at -- just 10 minutes away from my family.

But they were looking to fill a hole in testing and were only very maginally interested in my main area (discourse) so that went no further.  The fact that it was my very first telephone interview and I was caught completely off-guard by the questions they did ask vs. the once I had thought they would ask.

So here I remain.

[baka_janai]

I can certainly understand the two-body problem, being part of an academic couple myself. Good luck to you.

I should add that our particular two-body problem is not one of two professionals.  It's more a two-body problem complicated by the country that the two-bodies originally came from -- and their children.

[ajarn]

Windchimes

Don’t know what your problem is, but I suggest you get over it. I am quite pleased with my life and career and really have no interest in the opinion of my life and career of someone I have never met.



One of the conclusions I come to in the book is that a key to having a successful expatriate experience is to first understand one’s own culture, and then while acknowledging the differences in values and work practices, resist the temptation to automatically place everything one sees into a hierarchy where what is familiar is on top while what is unfamiliar is on the bottom. Being different from what one has grown accustomed to does not have to be better or worse.

Same advice might be of value to the “snob” crowd. Non-traditional scholars are different; they are usually worldlier and especially in my field, business studies, normally have more real world experience than do more traditional scholars. On the other hand, traditional scholars bring their own unique strengths to the mix. Who says every member of academia needs to be from the same background?

Today I will be going to the opening of a new school. Ok, according to the blue bloods it is not a “real” school. No bricks and mortar here, only bamboo and thatch. Also, the “diplomas” issued are not accredited by any national accrediting body. Few, if any, of the teachers have teaching licenses; in fact many of the “teachers” have never finished high school. It is a school in a refugee camp alongside the Thai-Burma border, many of the students and teachers used to live in one of the 3000 plus villages that the Burmese Army have burned to the ground, and education has had to take a back seat to survival while fleeing.

I am sure the blue bloods will look down their noses at the students and teachers at this school, after all the students and teachers do not have the qualification the blue bloods have. But, those of us working here on the border are doing the best we can and hopefully the education the students receive will be of benefit to them even if it is not up to the caliber found in the top private schools in the US and UK. After all, if everyone had the opportunity to get a PhD at a “brick and mortar” school, who would the blue bloods have to look down upon? What is the use of being an elitist if there are not plebeians to lord over?


PS

“If you think I am wrong, try getting a traditional academic position anywhere in a Western world”

Are you sure of the choice of article in that statement?

Anyway

I will be starting a new job at a well respected Australian University next month.


Cheers

[windchimes]

Windchimes

Don’t know what your problem is, but I suggest you get over it. I am quite pleased with my life and career and really have no interest in the opinion of my life and career of someone I have never met.

You also never met those who you call "blue-bloods", but that didn't stop you from giving your opinion on their life ("snobs") and career ("elitists").

Non-traditional scholars

You are not "non-traditional scholar". That is a misleading claim, because all of your education comes from suspicious/subpar/third grade schools/programs. This is not my snobbish perspective, but is the fact grounded in reality, something you are consistently missing from your own analysis.

Today I will be going to the opening of a new school. Ok, according to the blue bloods it is not a “real” school. No bricks and mortar here, only bamboo and thatch. Also, the “diplomas” issued are not accredited by any national accrediting body. Few, if any, of the teachers have teaching licenses; in fact many of the “teachers” have never finished high school. It is a school in a refugee camp alongside the Thai-Burma border, many of the students and teachers used to live in one of the 3000 plus villages that the Burmese Army have burned to the ground, and education has had to take a back seat to survival while fleeing.

I am sure the blue bloods will look down their noses at the students and teachers at this school, after all the students and teachers do not have the qualification the blue bloods have. But, those of us working here on the border are doing the best we can and hopefully the education the students receive will be of benefit to them even if it is not up to the caliber found in the top private schools in the US and UK. After all, if everyone had the opportunity to get a PhD at a “brick and mortar” school, who would the blue bloods have to look down upon? What is the use of being an elitist if there are not plebeians to lord over?

This is what is normally referred to as the "filler". Hopefully, you "scholarly" books don't include too much of that.

I will be starting a new job at a well respected Australian University next month.

There's simply no way that someone of your credentials/background can get anything other than a "warm body" position at an Aussie version of Crappella University. You are free to prove me otherwise, but somehow I believe you won't.

[baka_janai]

Windchimes

Don’t know what your problem is, but I suggest you get over it. I am quite pleased with my life and career and really have no interest in the opinion of my life and career of someone I have never met.

Ditto.

You are not "non-traditional scholar". That is a misleading claim, because all of your education comes from suspicious/subpar/third grade schools/programs. This is not my snobbish perspective, but is the fact grounded in reality, something you are consistently missing from your own analysis.

You clearly have a very limited definition of "scholar." One of the leading scholars in my field, a person who is hugely respected and who published incredible volumes of top-tier research never at any point in her professional life held a regular university professorship.  There are also productive scholars laboring away at obscure (and "academically challenged") universities around the world.  You, on the other hand, seem to equate SCHOLAR with DEGREE, as if your diploma came printed with the words "OFFICIAL SCHOLAR" on it.

This is what is normally referred to as the "filler". Hopefully, you "scholarly" books don't include too much of that.

So, in other words, you didn't get the point.  Hopefully, your "scholarly" reading doesn't suffer too much from that.

There's simply no way that someone of your credentials/background can get anything other than a "warm body" position at an Aussie version of Crappella University.

Not if elitist snobs like you are in control.

[ajarn]

Windchimes

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. It is good to know that there are open-minded and helpful people in academia. 

[windchimes]

Windchimes

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. It is good to know that there are open-minded and helpful people in academia. 

I am open minded enough, but the problem is -- you are unrealistic. As a former military man, and an expat living in Asia for over 10 years, you don't need an encouragement; what you need is a reality check.

And don't play the victim when you aren't one. Your background is non-traditional alright, but you consciously and repeatedly chose academic paths of lesser resistance. What's worse, you genuinely didn't seem to realize that your academic qualifications will work against you since plenty of your previous posts exhibit a genuine perplexion as to why you don't get any responses when applying for a job in the U.S. That shows not only a serious out-of-reality touch, but also terrible research skills. You as a scholar-wannabe should have known this all along, because this information was easily findable/identifiable/verifiable. You should have known that the name/prestige of your online PhD institution will AUTOMATICALLY PRECLUDE your employment application from ending up anywhere other than a garbage bin. Simply because this is the market which is abundant (and extremely competitive) with PhD graduates from prestigious/solid/normal uni's -- and your bringing a diploma mill degree into the mix was simply unrealistic to the point of being delusional or childish.

And what's worse, that is even after you yourself stated this:

I was not overly thrilled with the level of instruction and the low standards accepted at my uni.

How can you expect SC members of some traditional universities to be thrilled with your university, when you admitted that they had low standards?

Again, you can't have it both ways.

You seem to be happy overseas, and perhaps you should stay there as long as you possibly can. But if you ever decide to come back home, you'd be better off to cross serious academia off of your list as possible employment places, and instead focus on small CCs in out-of-way places, or the kind of diploma schools from which you graduated from.

[ajarn]

Winchimes

Fired up, aren't we?

I am doing fine, both professionally and personally, how are things going in your life?

[baka_janai]

Yes, there are some very serious realities to be faced.  And, to be frank, I agree that a Ph.D. degree from a notorious diploma mill is likely to sink most CVs in a competitive market.  This is not just elitism.  It can become a crucial matter of accreditation for the university.  And if the job involves mentoring grad students, it can also have consequences for their future careers.  Landing a tt job in the US would certainly be bucking the odds.  It may be possible in a field where industry/real world experience is highly valued (for example, in Education where having prior K-12 experience is almost a requirement).  But in general academic knowledge is valued over professional (and life) experiences and that's probably how it should be.

But let's not confuse any of these job considerations with the issue of who is or isn't a "scholar."  And I certainly hope that being ex-military and working in Asia are not automatically treated as grounds for derision.

[ajarn]

bb

I agree with you. First off, one should distinguish between accredited and non-accredited education. To lump all non-elite education into the same basket is just an attempt to misinform.

It is human nature to classify people, practices, values, careers and education into hierarchal levels. In these days of political correctness, it is not acceptable to place people into lower hierarchical levels based on race, gender, or ethnic backgrounds, but obviously in academia in America, it is acceptable to fulfill one’s need to classify individuals on a lower rung of the social hierarchy by reputation of the institute an individual graduates from. Fair enough, this has not really come as surprise to me, but since when I left the USA I was only a high school grad, I have to admit I don’t know all that much about academia in America. I have been little surprised by the extent of snobbishness. I have not found the same degree of elitism from members of academia from other countries.   

It was interesting that a member of “academia” launched an unprovoked attack on me on this site based on a single one of my credentials. Why? What was the purpose? Are there many members of academia in America that have such severe inferiority complexes that they need to seek out individuals to insult? Does Windchimes become more accomplished in the eyes of his colleagues by launching into hateful insults on those who he is attempting to portray as inferior?

Obviously I have taken the path less (never?) traveled and of course this limits my career options. On the other hand, not being willing to sign a Christian faith statement also limits my employment options in higher education in the good ole USA. But, on the other hand, my wide range of experiences allows me greater option outside of academia (my field are international business, management, and business studies). 

In the end, each one of us should measure him or herself by self-imposed benchmarks, not those set by someone else who has totally different aspirations and opportunities.

I have had my ups and downs in life, but I woke up this morning feeling real good about myself and my career prospects. I am winding up a productive year of working to provide educational opportunities for  refugees, I have a good (my definition of good) offer from an overseas branch of a well-respected Australian university and will begin next month, my latest book is in the final editing stages, a major publisher has expressed interest in my newest book proposal, I have a couple of other articles coming out, I have an offer to do some side work which will make up for the reduction in salary I will have by returning to university work and my personal life is going fairly well.

But according to Windchimes, I am total loser.

I have two choices, one I can ignore his opinion.

Two, I can accept that I am a total loser and either commit suicide or begin the process of drinking myself to death?

Tough choice, eh?

[bernardblack]

Getting back to the original question:

I'm a Brit working at a university in a Mediterranean country (not in the Euro-zone), paid in local currency. I'm not likely to be here permanently. I think of myself as a short-term immigrant, if that isn't a contradiction in terms.

The term "expat" makes me cringe, as it has connotations of not adjusting at all to the local culture, but living in a bubble of Britishness (imported Heinz beans, refusing to learn the local language, big satellite dish beaming in British soap operas etc.) I guess it does all stem from thoughts of colonialism. 

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Ph.D. level coursework is a joke.

This is certainly field- and school-dependent.  I've done graduate work as a student in three fields, and taught graduate courses in two.  These were all serious courses, and I learned more in my field in my first semester of graduate classes than I did in my last two years as an undergraduate (at a top-rated SLAC with an anti-slacker reputation).

That doesn't mean that a coursework-heavy program is the only valid path to a research career. - DvF

[baka_janai]

Ph.D. level coursework is a joke.

This is certainly field- and school-dependent. 

You're probably right.  I've only experienced such classes in one program in one place.  But it was a good place -- an elite place.  Most programs just seem to have "mixed grad" level courses rather than MA level courses and then a "higher" Ph.D. level courses.  Honestly, the idea of a "Ph.D. (candidate) only" level class strikes me almost as odd as a "Grand Ph.D."  I just can't imagine some level of information that Ph.D. students ought to have but which is "too demanding" for MA level students.  But this might just be the way my field is organized.

[windchimes]

Winchimes

Fired up, aren't we?

I am doing fine, both professionally and personally, how are things going in your life?

For somebody who is very happy, both professionally and personally, you seem to be taking this far too personally. Usually, that is a clear indication of the things actually being quite the opposite. Nobody called you a loser -- but everyone in the U.S. will tell you that your school/degree is just about worthless (which is something you've also learned yourself in the process of applying for the U.S. jobs.) So I really don't know what's the problem?

But let's not confuse any of these job considerations with the issue of who is or isn't a "scholar."

A real scholar would not need a degree at all.

Obviously Ajar went for the "degree" because he believed that it would bring him at least some of the benefits associated with it.

But a real "scholar" would/should not ignore the fact that an online PhD from diploma mill would NOT bring him even a second glance consideration (let alone respect) in the academic community.

And if the scholar in question did indeed know those facts but consciously chose to ignore them, instead going for it for the sheer vanity purpose of getting to call himself a "doctor" in the third-world environment that is less likely to know, or care, about the reputation of his school/degree back at home -- well that is yet another issue.

Either way, he blew it, and then came here to cry how nobody understands him -- when in fact it is him who did not understand the others (aka "the process".)

Just another casualty who wanted to mold the reality to fit his plans, instead of molding his plans to fit the reality.

[windchimes]

To lump all non-elite education into the same basket is just an attempt to misinform.

No, in fact you are attempting to misinform when you pretend that the only problem with your degree is because it's coming from a non-elite school.

You know what a non-elite school is? Places like California State University, Monterey Bay, or Greensboro College, Greensboro.

Capella University is not even in the league of non-elite schools. Capella U. is not even in any league -- except its own, semi-legitimate, where the name of the game is 100% acceptance rate while churning out pretend education with terribly lax standards and crowned with useless degrees -- in return for money.

Or as you put it:

"I was not overly thrilled with the level of instruction and the low standards accepted at my uni."