Things you don't want to say out loud in academia [8 embarrassing admissions]

So true. Late in undergrad and in grad school, the idea of becoming a professor really lost it luster. I remember that talking about doing anything else other than research was frowned upon. The idea that you don’t want to be just like your professors is sacrilege.

My previous university is situated in a city notorious for substance abuse and addiction. It's no surprise that the university invited my lecturer's spouse, who is a habitual drug user with a criminal history, to deliver a talk on drug consumption and provide students with free injection services. I couldn't help but feel that the spouse was leveraging their partner's position at the university to promote drug use. It doesn't sit well with me, and I believe it's not the right thing to do. Regarding the theft of my research, I discovered that my supervisor had shared the unpublished content with his PhD students, leading to striking similarities between their published theses and my work. When I confronted my supervisor, he denied it and suggested that all researchers draw inspiration from the works of others. To get back at him and his PhD students, I employed the same tactics they used against me. As a result, I now have several books and articles published (plagiarism free), all thanks to their actions. If they steal from you, you do the same to them, and let them have a taste of their own medicine. 😊

For someone who has stayed in an academic background for years, I hate to admit it -but you are right. Thank you very much, I learn a lot from your channel.

My Chinese supervisor took care of one of my papers publication during master’s degree and after it had been accepted I discovered that he shifted his name first and my name second and he included another guy whom I never knew 😂…

Sometimes I think academia would work so much better if researchers were just given a salary and told to do what they want. Research an obscure topic for ten years without publishing? Sure, go for it. Darwin wouldn't have survived in academia today.

These things most likely happen in other demanding and high competitive professions as well, and some of them are related to our flawed nature as humans.

Damn .. I was dismissed on my idea, and it was pushed back, then my supervisor suggested I did that exact thing 2 weeks later.

Man, your videos and are so helpful and honest. Been learning from you for the past 1 year. Too bad you aren't in academia anymore; you could have been the best faculty member there is.

I respectfully disagree about needing to look smart all the time. As an academic supervisor I have found that admitting my ignorance can be very motivating for my students! My students feel smart when they teach me something new and are often willing to work to get that feeling! It's a win win 😊.

I know so many alcoholics in academia. One of them literally drank a full bottle of vodka every evening after work. He was fresh like a baby in the morning...he was ukrainian though 😂. Another one would pop 2 bottles of wine after work. I myself kinda became alcoholic during my thesis writing.

Multiple friends have had their research and ideas stolen. It's rife. Academia is so dishonest, such an exploitative industry, so much harm, performance and so far from what it could or should be. I wish this would change, it's disastrous for society and individuals in so many ways.

Indeed. As a professor, I do not publish many ( maybe 2 or 3 max) because I am the opposite. My colleagues publish like 6 and above articles per year because they literally copy others' ideas. My father calls it " Diarrhea of publications"

My PhD advisor used to pull the same shit on all of us all the time, we would go in his office suggesting something, he would tell us to forget about it because it was stupid. A month later he would come back with the same proposal, he not only did it to me a couple of times but to many of my lab mates

Hi Andy! I want to thank you for the work you are doing in your channel. We certainly need more deep and honest conversations about academia like the one´s that you started here. It would be especially interesting to hear more about PoctDoc (how to choose the postdoc position, what makes a good postdoc researcher, and how it differs from doing Ph.D.). I am also excited to hear about the academic path in different fields (e.g., comparison of natural science with social sciences or humanities). It would be fun to see a discussion between you and someone from these fields.

Watching this video gives me mixed emotions. I am a PhD student and don't want to be what you described, and I am not by now. To be honest, I cannot understand why people want to appear to know everything when they don't. And what's the point of saying something when we don't really understand it? Fake it until you make it? This is bullshit.

If someone said "I'm an EXCESSIVE alcoholic, I would respect that.

Thank you for your service!

It’s comforting hearing that you understand the math of the results just enough but that it’s still all fog underneath the surface!!

Great info

I think the language part is something we need to phase out. It makes research inaccessible and prevents the public from critically understanding research, leading to misinformation when news outlets 'translate' these publications.