Greg Allain’s article “Challenges Facing New Academics” (Bulletin, October 2006) somewhat alleviates the depressive mood I have been in since my return to my regular duties from a productive and happy field season.

In the field I felt elated, able to work, think, perform and communicate as a grownup and respected in my area of expertise as someone who had something to offer. But within a week of coming back to my contractually-limited term appointment (CLTA), job depression set in. I felt alienated, useless and unsuccessful yet expected to perform at the highest level with no support or recognition.

If new faculty members feel stressed, let them rest reassured, CLTAs — for whatever reason they accept these unlucky positions — are not even considered to be faculty members. They don’t have the rights and privileges available to regular faculty, yet carry full teaching loads (2.5 courses a year at my institution). They are paid about 25 per cent less than tenure-track young faculty members with the same experience. After two years in my position, I am finally making slightly more than a Toronto bus driver.

In addition to teaching, we are expected to do productive research. But when it comes to applying for SSHRC grants, my institution has stringent rules about who qualifies as an affiliate of the university. And guess what — I don’t qualify! CLTAs not only worry about their research, but also grants and teaching performance. Throughout the tenure of their jobs, they have to apply for “real” jobs, and each of these applications requires time and serious preparation. You have to custom write each application to “sell yourself.” I was hoping that after all my years of learning, I could avoid selling myself.

Allain mentions difficulties young faculty face in juggling work and family life. In my department my female colleagues in tenure track jobs (same education, same marital status, same level of experience) do not have children, while female colleagues who started an academic career more than 10 or 15 years ago do have children. At my university, only young, male colleagues with stay-at-home wives can afford children. So all things considered, I am doing comparatively well. I have two children and a job, except that, when my job ends next July — even though I have a PhD, two prestigious postdocs, years of teaching experience, many published works, three research projects, knowledge of four languages and thousand of dollars of debt, I won’t be able to feed them.

Small wonder I was so happy recently after putting down new floor tiles at the entrance to my extremely expensive, very small and poorly built old house. Finally, a bit of creativity and productivity that can be seen and touched, and that’s subject to no one else’s judgement.

Mirjana Roksandic
Anthropology, University of Toronto