Andrew Grebneff wrote,
> I have plenty of Far Side cartoons tacked up in my paleo lab... despite
this I remain a "temporary" employee (research assistant ie fossil
preparator) after 19 years in my geology department...

> Perhaps this is why I have one Dilbert up too (just in case).

Ha! I'll bet it's tacked up where no pointy-haired managers can see.

Andrew, you have my sympathy! I have never known a preparator or other
technician who was treated as a true equal by other department members, and
there also seems to be an ungodly number of permanently "temporary"
instructors out there. The winning strategy seems to be (a) to collaborate
on grants and publications with faculty members, (b) to earn a doctoral
degree, and (c) to enjoy the best that the area has to offer before (d)
escaping with improved credentials while your salary is still less than an
entry-level faculty member's. However, let's be realistic. After nineteen
years, your best strategy may be to write a great book, enjoy the shock and
envy of other department members without letting on that you've noticed it,
and save your best energies for family and shell friends (while keeping that
vita updated, just in case). Come on, guy, we all know you're ready to write
that definitive work on New Zealand mollusks!

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama

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