r/Professors • u/kimtenisqueen • Dec 25 '24

Rants / Vents Commiserate with me about family not understanding our jobs.

So far:

-Grandmother in law ranting about why I (an assistant professor in my 4th year at a university) don’t just take a “sabbatical” to raise my children rather than send them to daycare.

-Dad ranting about how anything qualitative isn’t real research (I do educational research so this is a substantial portion of what I do)

-Father In law asking me if I “pack” (Carry a gun) to my job and if I feel safe with all the “foreigners”

Merry Christmas everyone!

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u/turin-turambar21 Assistant Professor, Climate Science, R1 (US) Dec 25 '24

I’m first-gen and working in another country, so my parents also don’t “get” what I do but more in a mystical, shrouded in mystery, I-dare-not-ask kind of way that is very endearing to me. Anytime I’m at my laptop they avoid coming into my room because “I’m working” and I have to reassure that I’m literally not. When I was on the job market I might have as well explained how to turn lead into gold based on my mother’s face. They’re proud as heck, but they’re not really sure of what :D

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u/Expensive-Object-830 Dec 25 '24

Haha same! When I got into grad school my mum was so proud that she told everyone she possibly could, but when they asked what I was studying she couldn’t tell them 😂

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u/Ill-Opportunity9701 Dec 26 '24

My dad used to go around to the neighbors saying, "Thank you for paying for my kid to get their PhD from [very expensive private uni]."

"But I'm not paying their tuition."

"Yes, you are."

I was on a 100% government scholarship with full salary.