Pressure to Publish (Additional Blog 3)

Since starting my PhD here at Virginia Tech, I've been exposed to even more of the ins and outs of what life as a tenured or tenure track faculty member is like. As a prospective faculty member, I have taken every opportunity to learn more about different appointments, involvements, programs and what day to day life as a faculty member is like. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me to learn from faculty and get a clearer picture of my life and what is important to me in a job.

While there have been several things that I'm excited about and looking forward to, unfortunately, there are several other aspects that are downright concerning. In particular, I hear professors admit that the pressure to publish has them spending more time writing grants and trying to bring in money than engaging in other aspects of their appointment such as teaching or student involvement and extension. While research is a crucial portion of our lives as faculty, it frequently takes precedent over teaching and extension (which in agriculture, are arguably equally as important as research).

This isn't something that is unique to VT, but a common theme across several different universities. So for aspiring professors whose passion leans towards educating the next generation of professionals in the field, or those with a passion for extending the research from the university to producers, what do they do? Well, often they sacrifice this passion somewhat in order to bring in funds, or they take a non-tenure track job so that they can focus on these passions. The academic system is flawed and ideally would change to cater to not only the researchers, but the educators and extension professionals as well. However, given the nature of funding, it seems it is a necessary evil that won't be changing anytime soon.