Hi @lys , Wow... you have covered a lot of areas in this post and I agree with you for the most part.
I partly disagree with you when you say that all people look for is the sheer amount of publications someone has and are not concerned about their actual content. This is true to some extent as a lot of publications is seen as being a good thing, however, every paper that is published in a reputable journal usually has an impact factor associated with it.
The academics that I work with are more concerned about publishing a paper that has a big impact factor on the scientific community than publishing streams of pointless junk.
As you have said though, there is a part of the scientific community that is only concerned about the amount of publications, as this is good for grants etc. However I do think this is field specific.
In terms of protecting your Intellectual Property, this is something that needs to be considered on a individual basis. My University for example will actively support and encourage you to create patients, other universities do not allow for this, and some funding bodies actually own your intellectual property, so this really is a murky area indeed.
I suppose all you can really do in such a situation is read your contract thoroughly and ensure your property is protected. It sucks to hear you lost your intellectual property to someone else, this isn't the first time I've heard of this happen and unfortunately i'm sure it wont be the last.
Your reference to slave labour is SO TRUE! and this drives me crazy! It is so annoying that for most research areas there are literally only a FEW people in the world who are qualified to hold that position. YET, they expect you to work like a dog, give them everything and you get sh*t pay. This is really unfair, however I do blame the scientists before me for this! Whenever you talk to them and mention this, most of them will say:
"I enjoy my work, I don't do it for the money" so they are literally setting a standard for people to take advantage them and effectively sanctioning this treatment.
Anyways, I've said enough, good post, I'm following you, feel free to follow back @dr-physics :)
I agree with you, I recognize that there are certainly researchers who want to publish articles that have a great impact factor for the scientific community.
It is deplorable that the long days are in some cases paid with almost symbolic salaries which do not recognize the work done.
Everytime I mention this, I am told "we need to sacrifice your salary to buy better equipment (the latest toys) and be competitive"
On the other hand, we are also often chasing empty titles and recognition, so as scientists we are not blameless perhaps... Any pyramid game needs suckers to fill out the bottom... Plenty of people are next in line if you refuse to play the game...
We begin with many ideals, and those are often abused by institutions to further their own agenda without developing the potential of the people they depend on.
I wouldn't regard the salaries as symbolic, I would just consider them to be shocking low in comparison to other professions. I don't know how the salaries are distributed in Spanish Universities, however in the UK the salary is more-or-less a standard amount that is based around the salaries paid by research councils.
Researchers work extremely hard, long hours and generally put everything into their work. This work benefits the whole of society, however gratitude is not reflected in the form of a salary that's for sure.
Hi Dr Physics, I know some Spanish Phd candidates. If they are lucky they earn about as much as a cashier in a supermarket say about 900€.
I coached one of these Phd candidates. She was already a year in and starting to crack under the psychological terror of her tutor (really psychological warfare tactics)
Anyway. When starting to look at her motivations and goals we started exploring. She said her goal was to become a university professor. OK, as a coach you get to ask the stupid questions "What would it take to become a university professor?" "..."
She did not know, so she went to find out:
After completing her doctorate (in about 4 years, obviously she had a Bachelor's and Masters already so 4 years already done)
After 8 years of study she would have a Phd in her hands. Not enough...
She found out it "is expected" that she'd do a Post-doc of another year of course abroad
... still not enough
After that she might be accepted as an Assistant professor, which would mean that she'd need to do the dirty work for about 600€ a month and thennnn...if she did not step on anyone's toes ... she might be accepted as a full time professor.
And will make about 2000-2500 € a month.
So that is an investment of
Bachelor 3
Masters 1
Phd 4- 6 (many seem to plateau and stick around before finishing)
Post doc 1
Assistant Professor 2-4
So in total about 11 - 15 years of your life to get a job with a pay any normal professional should be earning in the first 5 years of their career.
Needless to say, she started to realize she was wasting her time and found a job teaching in high school which was something she enjoyed much more...