this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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Academia is a pyramid scheme. There is no changing my mind.
Yep.
I’m convinced it’s a system designed to take advantage of young impressionable people who don’t know any better while keeping ‘expertise’ and ‘knowledge’ behind a paywall.
Nothing uni has taught me could not have been learnt by myself reading papers and following YouTube.
Except for the fact learning through those means is not recognised as ‘legitimate’.
Hmmm ... well, if I was going to hire, say, a chemist to work in a research lab, I need some way to identify if my candidates have the required skills/knowledge/etc. Now one way to quickly ascertain that is to see if they have a chemistry degree (or master's, PhD, whatever is necessary for the particular role). Possibly practical experience could be enough, also - I know people who have worked up through corporate labs without degrees.
However if someone comes and says "trust me, I've read a lot of papers and watched YouTube videos"... sure, they might know what they need, but how am I going to check? The point of a degree isn't necessarily just to legitimise that knowledge, it's also a stamp that says a trusted entity has confirmed you have those skills and knowledge. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there is a purpose to the whole institution.
Maybe they shouldn't be gatekept behind ludicrous paywalls then.
Sure - state funded, in fact.