One difference with respect to 2017 (I guess here; please confirm) is that bikes are now quite spread in Boston.
Yes, there was the bike hiring system at that time (very nice looking bikes, I must say), but to be honest I didn't understand how the operation was...I would rather be a Charlie on the Boston Bus and Train, and since I was a Fellow at the MIT, this was free for me. The only condition that I must be with my MIT ID to enjoy these facilities.
As I said in the blog, there are many differences with other systems, that include both better items and worse ones. For instance, the French system comes with an excellent social security (healthcare) and (mostly) free education for everyone. You can get jobs quite early in the career, the salaries are not huge but very sufficient relative to the living costs in France, etc. On the other hand, there is very few personal grants (which can be taken either as an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the point of view).
I envy this in a good way too. Although we do have an health care insurance system, I can only categorize it as basic. Even the health care sector cannot in any ways be compared to a developed country like France. Jobs in recent time is becoming harder to get in the academic system, even with PhD qualification. I guess the economy wasn’t robust enough to absorb the shock of the pandemic….this may be said of many countries of the world though.
On personal/research grants this is next to nonexistent- As an academic staff I write for grant outside the shore of my country. Although, there is a government agency that is trying all it could to get research grants across boards.
From what you said, Nigeria seems to have all the cons of the French system but without having its pros. This is also my guess from past discussions with @gentleshaid. I wish one day the situation will ameliorate in your country, and that a solution to the current problems will be found soon!
Don’t get me started on the cons!
I hope we are able to get together and solve the issues confronting us as a nation. I know for a fact that CHANGE needs to start with everyone of us and our perspective about the country and out it should be run. Every micro community must learn to do its best and this can snowball into something bigger.
Thanks for your time, it was great reading your reply!
Thanks for coming back to me with all these details. I really enjoy the conversation. It is nice to compare countries and systems.
At least this is similar for me:
Such a long time spent in writing long applications. I would prefer using this time for research... but well, this is how it is. We need to play with the rules of the system we are in, or change the system, or move away from it if possible. For this last option, the job market is however quite reduced. This is true in most fields, with the exception of some emerging ones. I hence see so many promising PhD students in particle physics leaving for the private sector right after the PhD. Somehow, this is a good move as there is not enough jobs for them in academia, and the private sector pays better. But at the end, we train students hardly, and then they fly away... I would love to train someone who will manage to stay on board and collaborate with me for the next decades. We will see if one day it will work... :)