Academic Salaries.

[gboy]

thanks, this is a very interesting thread, I assume there is medial aid, and other bonuses that they get. I do remember when i did my masters and published a paper and presented at a conference that the faculty / professor got some sort of extra funding bonus, I believe this builds up a kitty that allows them to travel the world presenting at conferences and doing "collaborative" research with other university's. However, it seems like you eventually reach a point where you reach a point and cant move any further up the chain, and thats where you get stuck. I think because of this, and a comfortable sallery there is not realy an internal drive to acheve more.

 

[Naks]

Not really, the drive to teach/research is not money-driven. Well, IME, it isn't, it's for its own rewarding purpose.

What really killed my academic aspirations was the stupid red tape and the paper-pushers who were earning more than academics while denying them funding.

In one instance, one of my papers got accepted at a prestigious management conference in Italy, and they wanted me to co-chair some plenary sessions, etc., and Rhodes University gave me R6k funding. I mean, WTF was I supposed to do with that? I had been on the job not even 2 years I think, so barely any savings after paying my debts off.

After that, I was done. As soon as I got work in industry, I was gone.

 

[aleksandar]

Not really, the drive to teach/research is not money-driven. Well, IME, it isn't, it's for its own rewarding purpose.

What really killed my academic aspirations was the stupid red tape and the paper-pushers who were earning more than academics while denying them funding.

In one instance, one of my papers got accepted at a prestigious management conference in Italy, and they wanted me to co-chair some plenary sessions, etc., and Rhodes University gave me R6k funding. I mean, WTF was I supposed to do with that? I had been on the job not even 2 years I think, so barely any savings after paying my debts off.

After that, I was done. As soon as I got work in industry, I was gone.

You can never have savings, Landy parts are expensive!!

 

[MandM]

I did the academic thing for a bit. For non-in-demand work, it's a really great alternative to industry. You get to teach, do research, write papers, and get completely involved in the world of academics, while simultaneously being payed pretty damn well in comparison to industry.

For in-demand work (so, CS, engineering, applied maths/stats, or even pivots such as physicists to finance), academia doesn't completely fall short of local industry. With a PhD you typically get to R~800k-ish as a Senior Lecturer as soon as you graduate (straight "Lecturer" is usually the pre-PhD entry point).

It is pretty hard to become an Associate Professor though (tenure), and a full professor. Many never get beyond Senior Lecturer, and many get stuck at Associate Professor. The factors involved in promotion here are numerous:
1) Research record
2) Teaching record
3) Internal University Politics (popularity, reputation, committee memberships, admin responsibilities, etc.)
4) External Politics (AA, BEE, etc.)

Many people become full time teachers, and their research goes out the window, which inhibits their promotions. Others focus only on research, which if very successful can dominate a lack of teaching, but only just.

Another consideration is that often "Professor" becomes a largely administrative job, and if (1) and (2), is what got you into the whole thing, managing a lab of mass MSc and PhD students, while coordinating undergaduate programmes, may not be for you either. As an FYI, other jobs such as Dean of Faculty, and Head of Department are really just code for "More Admin". Also, HoD isn't necessarily a permanent position, but a title that one holds for a few years and then gives to someone else (usually it comes with a temporary pay bump too, while held).

As others' have said, there is often a certain amount of time allowed for external consulting, or managing of founded spin-off companies. In practice, most academics just don't have time for this, or if they do, the academic side of their career tends to suffer. I have very ever rarely seen this well balanced.

Yet another other consideration is that although it is very noble for an academic who could work as an academic internationally, to choose to work in SA, most don't - academics want to work in the best universities, and best labs around the world. Better facilities, famous colleagues, access to conferences, collaborating with world leaders in their field, etc. is typically the primary desire of any research focused academic. This also means that many of your SA based colleagues are going to be pretty meh (with the exception of some very bright individuals who have chosen to stay in SA for personal reasons at the expense of their careers).

Another thing that also pulls academics out of universities is actually industrial research positions. Many tech and finance companies have exclusive research divisions, which focus on slightly more targeted research, but still allow paper publications, and collaboration with other universities or research labs. These are often the most sought after positions, offering several times the compensation of university academic positions, while typically also having no teaching responsibilities at all. Usually to get in one has to be the brightest of PhD graduates or postdocs, or a well established professor who would would sometimes retain their academic title, and be responsible for a cross industry-academia research collaboration.

Apart from the academic pulls above, there are plenty of non-academic research or research-and-development jobs overseas that would get the best PhDs from STEM. It's hard to consider going for an R800k/y starting salary, when there are R3-4.5m/y starter jobs out there, overseas. On top of that, the typical Senior Lecturer would only have 2 promotion steps ahead of them with minor pay bumps, which would typically take 5-10 years for Associate Professor and another 10-20 years for full professor, while industry has the potential to go way higher, way faster.

A final point is also that not all academic positions in SA offer the same salaries as SUN, UCT, WITS, etc., and due to the prestige, salary, desire to do academic work, etc., there is a lot of competition for these roles.

A very balanced take.

 

[Dylan_G]

Saw this on Linkedin:

Senior Lecturer or Lecturer

Salary: R 359 820 – R 697 752

 

[cguy]

Saw this on Linkedin:

Senior Lecturer or Lecturer

Salary: R 359 820 – R 697 752

• A relevant Doctoral Degree (Specialising in Database Administration and or Web Design)

 

[Dylan_G]

Lol,

Another one, that seems a bit more sensible:

Senior Lecturer, Information Technology

 

[Crayons]

IME, most people who go to university are not interested in learning - they just want a piece of paper that gets them a job afterwards.

The few that do want to learn are the ones who carry on with postgraduate studies.

Where do you think people learn to toi toi from? That takes skill, dedication and practice.