Working class academics, when did you first discover ‘academic’ was an actual job that you could potentially do? For me it was during 3rd year undergrad. Based on a lightbulb moment conversation with the person who encouraged me to apply for funding & do postgraduate studies.
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Replying to @DrJoGrady @o_guest
I'm pretty sure I couldn't sensibly be called working class now. I was when I left home at 16, though. I didn't know university was a realistic option until I got there aged 26. I am not sure that "academic" IS the job that most university faculty now do.
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Replying to @TomFarsides @DrJoGrady
Based on what you wrote and the spelling of sceptical in your bio, I am going to assume you're from the American continents and probably North American. Class is very different in the UK and there are deep cultural divisions that cannot be ignored regardless of salary or job.
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The OP is from the North of UK. There is very little in the UK you can do within your own life to truly "change" class. You can change your accent, I guess, but people will always know and treat you differently at some point.
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As a scientist, I think I only know socially one working class UK academic (met him during my PhD). And it's nice he has a permanent job, I am so proud of him. Class mobility in the UK is abysmal because of many things, including how we define it.
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It's shocking to me how hard it is, even if I truly truly wanted to, for me to socialise/make friends with working class people in London. We live in the same city but can barely meet other than for them to fix things for us within a work/transactional environment.
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If fact I know people in London, who work in academia, who have moved in the last 10-5 years who have never heard somebody (consciously) speaking MLE. I mean that's... literally depressing because it means they don't even engage in conversation with anybody outside their bubble.
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It's nobody's fault. It's just a demonstration of how class has such a powerful grip on society here.
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