tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post1719563916957401117..comments2024-03-27T13:09:13.855+05:30Comments on Life in IISc: Attracting talentGiri@iischttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11819278945207995261noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-34264752449524264952009-10-22T06:47:22.702+05:302009-10-22T06:47:22.702+05:30I think Prof. Giri is very right about the huge di...I think Prof. Giri is very right about the huge disparity in the professor incomes in India and the USA. In the USA, by the time a professor retires he has amassed enough wealth from the start-up research firms and consultancies and salary that he can donate a million dollars to the University. We know about the descendants of professors that graduated from one university sending a million dollars as a gift to the University in memory of the professor that graduated from there. Can any professor in India ever dream of doing that?<br /><br />Being a professor in India in my opinion is no more noble than being one in the US. The major demerits in being in the US in my opinion include: being away from one's beloved homeland, a major problem for people that eat more vegetarian food than non-vegetarian. Another "reason" for which some people return to India is to "give their daughter a more traditional, cultural and demure upbringing". In my opinion, it is a figment of imagination that children in India are more well-behaved, less violent and use fewer swear words than their American counterparts.<br /><br />Prof. Giri is almost absolutely right when he says that the average salary of an assistant professor is nearly seven times that of one in India. Sometimes one must stop to wonder why a professor in India should have to sacrifice an excellent lifestyle, bleeding edge research facilities and excellent salary just to stay home. It is no different from a child insisting that he won't go to school and play, just because he doesn't want to venture out of home.<br /><br />In the US however, there is the culture of desiring international travel. Professors enjoy it if they get a sabbatical to go abroad and teach for a whole semester at a University in Taiwan, Scotland, Italy, Korea, Australia and parts of the world that don't speak English. Why is it that Indian professors are so shy of international travel? Is life like an ascetic the only refuge for a professor? How then do we plan to attract the large mass of ambitious people to a noble profession?Balaji Ramasubramanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15372550243170868555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-78185749988378947142009-07-01T20:52:29.798+05:302009-07-01T20:52:29.798+05:30Just saw a news item that a bank manager in AP was...Just saw a news item that a bank manager in AP was assaulted by an MP. Looks like being a government employee in India has its own challenges.<br /><br />Do you ever face political interference in your work?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-61034000407749127762009-06-28T20:36:46.733+05:302009-06-28T20:36:46.733+05:30No, one need not be a citizen of India. However, t...No, one need not be a citizen of India. However, the institute has to obtain permission from the government.Giri@iischttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819278945207995261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-8453590322913631312009-06-28T20:23:44.804+05:302009-06-28T20:23:44.804+05:30Dear Prof. Madras,
I would appreciate if you coul...Dear Prof. Madras,<br /><br />I would appreciate if you could provide some input on this question.<br /><br />Is a person of Indian origin who is now a US citizen eligible for regular faculty position in IITs/IISc? Does he/she needs to give up his US passport before being appointed? There seems to be some ambiguity in the faculty position advertisements posted by IITs/IISc?<br /><br />Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-26302192528565255342009-06-26T00:14:21.355+05:302009-06-26T00:14:21.355+05:30Prof. Madras,
I agree with you.
By the time most...Prof. Madras,<br /><br />I agree with you.<br /><br />By the time most people are ready to be Asst. Professors in places like the IISc, they also have a few years of industrial/research lab experience under their belt. This raises their market value in the industry but for academia, this is a minimum requirement (PhD+3 years).<br /><br />Even if an Asst. Professor in a US university earns $75k a year, it is quite close to what someone in that field will earn in the industry, may be 85-90% of industrial salary. In India, it is a pathetic 20-30%.<br /><br />We all have to save for the future. With the new "market oriented thinking" in government circles, new faculty shouldn't count on the great pension and health-care plans of the past. If you can make do on a Rs. 50k salary (after the G. Mehta report),<br />you have no savings. True, as long as you are working, you have a place to live in and some basic perks. What about after that?<br /><br />I think academia needs to be decoupled from Babu-dom in India. May be, the private universities will drag the government into taking some concrete steps. Otherwise, the faculty will vote with their feet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-76490889066799141332009-06-25T23:12:14.703+05:302009-06-25T23:12:14.703+05:30Dear Rainbow scientist,
I did read your post. A f...Dear Rainbow scientist,<br /><br />I did read your post. A faculty in IISc or IIT in Bombay/Madras etc can not afford to buy an independent house in a good locality but this is not the case in USA. <br /><br />Also, the comment that academic salaries are low everywhere does not mean much. The differential between academic and industrial peer group is important. Currently, the difference is 3-4 times. Though I earn a professor's salary, my graduating master's students who go to industry earn more than me. Thus the starting pay of my master's student is higher than my salary. That simply does not happen in the USA.<br /><br />Finally, your comment and comparison between IAS officer and an IISc professor is not apt. Though I might get the same salary as the additional secretary in the government, the perks are entirely different. <br /><br />This does not mean that I am unhappy. On the contrary, I love the academic freedom that IISc offers and I would not leave IISc for money. But then that's me. Money is an important issue in making a decision between academia and industry for many aspirants.<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />GiridharGiri@iischttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819278945207995261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-81044440876451736022009-06-25T15:03:09.921+05:302009-06-25T15:03:09.921+05:30I was writing comment on the response of Anonymous...I was writing comment on the response of Anonymous 7.32 AM here, but it became so long that I made it a separate post.<br /><br />http://rainbow-science.blogspot.com/2009/06/attracting-talent-lets-talk-about-money.htmlRainbow Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01619911613235481638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-33421578595456748142009-06-25T07:32:44.480+05:302009-06-25T07:32:44.480+05:30I know a very competant person who left an IIT aft...I know a very competant person who left an IIT after working for a few months - in this job, he didn't see in his lifetime any possibility of buying a 10 cents plot and building a house (a minimal middle class dream) in his home state kerala, where land prices are one of the highest in India.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-86108618644715740242009-06-24T22:21:17.978+05:302009-06-24T22:21:17.978+05:30yes, there are endowed chairs in many IITs and IIS...yes, there are endowed chairs in many IITs and IISc. Look at<br />http://www.iitk.ac.in/dofa/chairprofessors.htm<br />as an exampleGiri@iischttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819278945207995261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-42308787075766543732009-06-24T21:20:59.814+05:302009-06-24T21:20:59.814+05:30For IITs, IISc and Other universities, wouldn'...For IITs, IISc and Other universities, wouldn't it be nice if the government allowed endowed Chairs? In the US system, endowed chairs are considered a good way of retaining top notch faculty. In India, it could perhaps be used to supplement faculty salaries.<br /><br />Has this ever been considered?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061089355607754501.post-16692360040645671562009-06-24T19:29:41.106+05:302009-06-24T19:29:41.106+05:30Dear Prof. Madras,
Thanks again for your valuable...Dear Prof. Madras,<br /><br />Thanks again for your valuable comments. I am aware that Bangalore is expensive city and I can not comment on the cost of living in Bangalore, but otherwise in my state what I was earning as Assistant Professor or my colleagues are earning is pretty good and they all can afford decent apartment or duplex, not to mention good schooling for their children and other things of life. <br /><br />I am happy to learn that there is an initiative to create central portal for Research and Education in India. I will be happy to involve and help in any way I can.<br /><br />I am well aware of poor infrastructure, poor support, high teaching load and administrative responsibilities at state universities. I have worked in admission committee sorting hundreds of applications for first year B. Sc. admission, Examination cell, stock checking etc etc, but 2 professor in my university who had their training in IIT Kanpur and University of Chicago made all the deference in the physics department, and I wish there should be more people like them in all universities to improve the quality of science education there. I have seen Indians working in small colleges in US after getting training at IIT and post-doc at R1, so I think there is a possibility and there will be people who will come to state universities if advertised properly.Rainbow Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01619911613235481638noreply@blogger.com