what makes me sad is that many MANY industries are currently like this. The restaurant industry, the education system, the retail system etc. Even STEM based industries. It seems like people are unhappy everywhere and are working in a job that they don’t want to be in. It makes me upset to see the rampant depression in the US.

At this stage I'm confused as to how human society even continues to function.

I actually left academics when your ranch porch videos echoed my advisors concerns exactly. And I have to say I actually started enjoying the materials and languages much more when it wasn’t tied to such a Byzantine system. Thank you for steering me in the right direction.

This all needed to be said so much. So few people are actually aware of the shadow side of academia. My students were always shocked when I told them I was an adjunct, what percentage of the system is adjuncts, and what adjuncts get paid compared to "real" professors. About five months ago, I had a student in the final academic class I wound up teaching, come and ask me to write a graduate rec letter for her and I had almost this exact conversation with her, at which point she changed her mind about wanting to go. The system is broken and I'm glad I've finally found the courage to walk away from it. Like you, I'm socially isolated, scared about how I'm going to make a living in the future and so on but It's the right thing to do. Your story is not unique. It is endemic and it needs to be told...as often as you can find the heart to tell it. It was clear this video wasn't easy to make. Thank you for making the effort in a good cause.

Dr. Crawford you are not a loser.

For the record, I don't think you sound bitter at all. I think you sound like someone who went through the ringer, realized it could have been much worse, and worry about bright-eyed naive idealists who might walk into something like this and end up scarred. That's a strong sign of character and something you should be thanked for. Thank you.

I recently took (and failed out of) an online college course that was strangely dehumanizing. The instructor was a real person, but she was as helpful as an AI bot if you had a question. It was degrading, like paying good money for someone to teach you how to do something and they just tell you to read the instructions manual over and over again. It's as if the academics who survive are more cenobite than human.

A lot of this is fair. I am a tenured professor in the UK (although we are just called lecturers). It surprises me that a lot of PhD students don't realise just how bad the job market is. It's really bad everywhere, and before I take on a PhD student I make sure that they are aware of that and they they have alternate plans. So much of it depends on luck. In 5 years time Old Norse could be the hot subject to study and suddenly departments are hiring, if you graduate around that time a person will get that tenured post. Anyway, I'm a medievalist with a passing knowledge of Old Norse and really enjoy your work. I look forward to seeing more videos.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I hold a PhD and worked as an adjunct assistant professor for Business German for years. The pay was so ridiculous that I made more money selling stuff on the flea market once a week. The students loved my class, but the faculty had so little respect for my "skills" class that they scheduled faculty meetings during my class so I couldn't attend and voice my opinion.

Becoming a run of the mill high school librarian (in a union state) has made me more intellectually fulfilled and financially secure than basically all of my non-teaching or non-professional friends… 🧐 Food for thought.

Grasped this soon enough and left academia (Indo-European studies) after 1 year of postgraduate studies. The department closed down after a while and, from what I've seen, people who continued down that path ended up beaten by the system. I saved tons of time and money but the real value was a lesson learned : don't turn your hobby into a job. Crawford's insight on this matter is very useful and it shows all the ways in which modern academia is broken.

I understand you, brother. I have a Ph.D. in an obscure subject--Literacy--cultural literacy. I'm a specialist in roots and early country music. I taught Freshman Composition for years. I had an old Tennessee farmer tell me one time that he had a Ph.D., too--his "post hole diggers." Digging fence post holes was more meaningful to him than academic pursuits. And he may have been right, for all I know. I'm a whole lot older than you. Things sometimes have a mysterious way of working out. I've been sober for 23 years. The field of all possibilities is much clearer when one is sober. Hang in there. Peace.

Dude this is heartbreaking

You’re so right, I completely relate. I went to grad school in Spanish language and literature at a very prestigious Ivy League university from 1987-1992. I loved (still love and keep up on) the subject, I was fluent, knowledgeable, committed. Loved teaching, got great evaluations, was offered a class every semester including summer. But it wasn’t about teaching, it was about, like you said, having a narrow obsessive topic you could flog for life and publish regularly. Mostly articles nobody outside of the field would read. Another grad student there could barely speak the language and hated teaching, but she had a topic that every paper or talk she did would be about. She got a tenure track job. I went to the MLA convention and there was one job in a place I had no desire to be paying $23k. I dropped out and became a paralegal earning way more and not having to dedicate all my time to it, and I was very happy and never regretted my decision for one nanosecond. Shortly afterwards I started seeing articles about adjuncts working three jobs at three different colleges and making less than I was. But to this day if I tell people this they look down on me as a lazy loser who couldn’t hack it and thew away a great opportunity. It bothers me, but not much. I enjoyed my career, had some economic security, and was able to retire end of last year. Universities are just corporations now, really.

No, professor, you are not a”loser”. You are a very fine and accomplished scholar.

This video was clearly really personal and important to share out, thank you Dr. Crawford.

PhD in Linguistics here, 8 years out. I wish I heard your words 20 years ago. Thank you so much for this video. 🙏🏽 I've found joy and career stability in the educational non-profit world, surrounded by hundreds of other PhDs who work to better the lives of students, their families, and their communities. That could be a career pathway that other humanities and social sciences majors can explore. It's not without its own flaws and shortcomings, but it's another path worth exploring.

As a retired academic, absolutely right in everything you say. Excellent video. But... you''re not a loser. Most American chairs are sponsored and sponsored chairs often carry a great deal of kudos. And they get more kudos from the quality of the person occupying it. You are the Patreon Professor for the Public Dissemination of Old Norse Language and Culture. That carries a lot of weight. There are three categories for assessing the quality of an incumbent tenured Professor: research, teaching and engagement. The title of the chair speaks most to the latter two. You've created the chair and the chair is funded as a result of what you do. You more than fill the Professorship you hold: You're brilliant at it. Period.

Dr Crawford could tour the country doing an hour long lecture. I think he could easily fill a 100-250 seat room in the major population centers.

I am a linguist and I’m at the point now where I need to think about whether and where to apply for PhDs in the winter. I am lucky in that I got a part time job doing some phonology+light coding stuff at a medical company which I both enjoy and I think contributes positively to society. So with that experience I hope I‘ll have a backup option if/when the academic path does not work out. Your point about personality being an important factor in whether you make it in academia really got me to think. I enjoy research but I feel closer in spirit to you than most successful academics I’ve met. Still I feel like I would regret not going for it a lot. But maybe that’s also a form of laziness, PhD paradoxically feels like the path of least resistance, even though it might lock you into a world of hurt in the future. And FOMO also plays a role, it feels like being handed a lottery ticket and just throwing it away before even knowing the numbers.

I am a former professor of ancient and medieval history at Missouri Western. I had earned tenure in 2018. However in 2020 the university declared financial exigency, and so were able to fire 62 faculty - sadly including myself. My last academic year was 2020-2021. The financial exigency excuse is only partially justifiable. We in our department (which lost half of its faculty and all of its programs) did the math and knew that we drew enough student credit hours to more than pay our way. What this ultimately was about was a new model of higher education: making people job ready. The new paradigm is about training people for jobs, not educating. Sadly, the biggest casualty in this new paradigm is the humanities. This is part of a larger trend - liberal arts curriculum giving way to more practical training, especially in STEM fields. While I definitely sympathize (and even at points was appalled) with your experience, I could say that I thought I had it all. I had the brass ring when I got a TT job. I got the gold ring when I earned tenure. But given the current devaluation of liberal arts education, none of us is safe.

I am part of a group for supporting those learning Old English (we're mostly British, but there are members from elsewhere including the USA), some of whom are now considering venturing into Old Norse; at a recent Zoom meeting someone said they had heard that you were undergoing some sort of personal crisis, and there was general concern and sympathy. I thought that I should pass this on as an example of people around the world who care about you and wish you well.

I'm 39, turning 40 soon and am a 5th year PhD (UK style where the average duration is about 3.5 years) with no job prospect and not sure if I can even finish the PhD. I doubt I will be able to get a tenure track job. Sounds like alcoholism and LDR was tough on you. I'm also apart from my wife, and my addiction of choice is video games. Keep spreading the good message!

I almost pursued academia in a field I loved (math, not languages, but not the kind of math where you could actually make money). I very randomly received similar advice from an adjunct professor who was genuinely brilliant, but still struggling nonetheless. I can't go into all his trials and tribulations, but it was genuinely shocking how poorly he was being treated by certain of his "colleagues." Even though universities are often viewed as a means to getting a good paying job (rather than a place to learn because learning improves you inherently or strengthens character or something like that), they are often really bad at even that...and I went to school *_before_* they became cripplingly expensive. So all of this, ramble or not, is potentially extremely valuable to people coming up.

As a future young academic in English/Norse philology, thank you in advance! And also thank you for all the other videos you’ve made, you are a true internet hero

Your story matches what happened to me so closely. I went into academics wanting to share my love of the natural world with others. I also did research, but not for the prestige: I did it because I loved it, and I enjoyed writing and publishing. But I was given classes of hundreds of students with no support in teaching. I loved the students, but it took time. And I was passed over for promotion again and again. My administrators abused me constantly. The tenured faculty snubbed me in the most petty ways possible. One of them created a huge departmental fight because I put up onto the research board wall the poster my student had presented at the American Chemical Society, the premier society in this country for chemists. And finally, I was put into an impossible situation, then fired. My wife left me. I was driven not to drink but nearly to suicide. But now I work outside the academic field doing what I love, and find that it is the most honest environment I have ever been in. OUTSIDE the academic world, they seem to care about truth, want you to find out what the truth is, and are nice to you when you do it for them. Oh, and they pay vastly better than academics. I am an old man now, but regret only that I didn't learn earlier that life outside the academic world is happier, that you teach more there, and that they treat you more fairly there.

Jackson, maybe this is will sound nosey and rude, but I wish to say that we are all here for you. I understand the feeling of not wanting to share my struggles, but I want you to know that, should there be a need for it, we will be here to listen to you and your struggles. We love you and we are grateful for all of your work.

Dear Dr Crawford, being a PhD in Biology myself I can relate to many things you mentioned by my own first hand experience. I wish you to find an occupation that makes you happy and adds also some financial security to your planning. All the best from Germany from your subscriber Stefan.

I suspect this problem extends not only to 'industrially remote' fields like Old Norse and linguistics, but even to fields *directly* related to the worlds most profitable industries. In software a certain author and PhD has sold well over 100,000 copies of his book - a huge comprehensive and up to date tome that people applying for big tech companies study from to pass interviews. He's extremely prolific, puts out paper after paper, and after about 10 years of this he's finally been made an... associate professor. Good on you for getting out of academia, and if these increasingly sclerotic institutions don't respect you - screw 'em. It's 2023 and we no longer need these institutions to get knowledge from the best and brightest on planet earth.

I might just be a stranger on the internet, but I really do want to thank you. This I think has helped me think about a realistic and smart way to achieve my goals, and vision for my life. Random side note, National Order of the Arrow Conference, for anyone who knows what that is, is being held at the University of Colorado Boulder, and this is the one time I can't make it, which kills me but oh well.

for you to be able to both process the abuse you suffered, and also become sober within a not so distant time frame.. is completly remarkable. I am lost in my own foraging for a life that I want to live and your advice has come at a perfect time for me. Thank you sir

I'm middle-aged. And happy I left the academia and study I loved in order to just get a job. I made more cutting people's lawns than I would have if I stuck with my field of study. I use my brain in other ways -- for hobbies, for volunteer work... Ultimately, I did find a job that used my skills that wasn't too soul-sucking, but I got that job because I grew up on a farm and had been a landscaper. "Do what you love and the money will follow" works for very few people. It's more realistic to get a job that pays the bills, and do what you love in your spare time. Thanks for this, Dr Jackson. It's an important topic.

This is excellent advice. I’m also 37 and debating going back to get my masters. I have degrees in Anthropology and History, and similarly I’ve dealt with a lot of “what is anthropology and what do you do with a degree like that?” I was a TA at U of M too while there and got to learn and work closely with the professors. Both adjuncts and tenured. Right now I have 9 years experience as a social worker making 35k/year. So I always figure if my masters degree doesn’t get me anywhere, I can fall back on that experience. But yeah, I was never under the impression that my degrees would make me rich. My professors made sure I knew the reality of that before I got in too deep, haha. I also figured it was worth doing if you’re passionate about it and it brings you joy. Life is short. Find your happiness.

I'm 34, moving towards 35 and at the age of 32 I decided to finish my bachelors. I am currently pursuing a multi disciplinary in Philosophy, Anthropology, and Religion. I have been told by so many people that I should be a teacher and what you have said has been ever present on my mind for years, as others hold a faith in me that feels like a fulfillment of their own wishes rather than the reality I stare down and am unsure if I can tackle. I am not the 19 year old young dreamer... I am an old dreamer who is trying to live up to those dreams, still, but owe how the energy feel sloggish. This will be my last year before I graduate with the a bachelors, that and the deep uncertainty of what lays next. I suppose I say all this because I don't think you were rambling, it resonates with me. The small details are the poetries of our humanity. I appreciate your recognition of we who have a "gentle curiosity", a spirit that wants to learn. I wanted to send this because your caution shows me that you care, and it is meaningful to hear people trying to be caring and realistic in the world, but certainly on the internet. It feels to me that you are trying to live wisely, and so though the systems do not reward it yet, hopefully you can feel that you are living the path and garner respect and appreciation.

Thanks for this, Jackson. I just defended my phd dissertation in Old Norse lit (primarily) in an English department last week. I had a good time in grad school, but you're definitely right concerning the kinds of people who really "succeed." I love the teaching side of academia, but excelling at teaching will never be rewarded in the same way that excelling at research is. It's a shame because those who produce excellent research aren't always the best teachers (though many are, of course). I wouldn't go back and change a thing about my own career path, but it would have been good to really understand the problems facing early career researchers. People really need to be aware of this reality *before* they even think of applying for graduate school -- thank you for speaking about these realities.

Young academic here. Currently working on my ENG dissertation about alchemy in medieval literature! Doing plenty of research and teaching now in videogame studies. Always love your videos and advice. I'm not sure I'm cut out for youtube, but I enjoy the great educators on here. Edit: I'll add that my grad school cohorts have been fantastic communities without competitiveness. Most of us are here for the teaching, but Jackson is right that there are way too many cutthroats who focus only on their own research, regardless of the good it might do for humanity or even the profession.

Thank you for your work!

I mean this from the bottom of my heart. The insights and personal life experiences you shared hear are indeed encouraging. For the fact you're sharing your challenges both personally and professionally and also reminding us to stay true to our values and who and what we love. You have so many people that love you and your work Jackson and you deserve to have all your dreams realized! Thank you for your authenticity and kind nature!

Beautiful video Jackson, thanks for opening up to us

I appreciate this content 🙏🏻❤️

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject. I hope you achieve wild success in all your future adventures.

An extraordinary moment! Thank you! ❤

Thank you for this video, it really resonated with me in many ways. I appreciate your videos, your lessons, and everything you do.

I love your channel and your honesty and candor on this topic and about your personal experiences! You provide a very unique perspective that is very appreciated by those of us who pursue obscure academic paths and are looking for honest, real-world advice. Thanks again, this one was one of my favorite videos so far, and good luck with future career and personal moves, life is always an ongoing challenge!

Dr. Crawford you have a good heart & a damn good soul. I have a feeling in a few years time you're gonna be exactly where you wanna be. You've inspired me to control that crutch that alcohol takes it's hold of & to be the best person I can be for myself and others. You're going to inspire a lot more people than you already have to just live a good life and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've went through a hell of a lot but you've changed a lot of people's lives for the better. Never stop believing in yourself your legacy will live on for a long time.

this was pretty perfectly timed, thank you for this video. my wife just moved away to start her phd (in a more "hard" science discipline) only days ago. this was valuable for me to hear because of that. im sorry to hear of the ways academia has negatively affected you and i very sincerely hope things have since improved, and it sounds like they have. i hope your experience helps her and myself and i hope that this path of youtube and books is treating you well, ive been a fan of your channel for years and i hope to see it continue into the future!

I am not in the field, but I appreciate your thoughts and honesty here. I always enjoy your videos, but this was really good insight into the life of someone who pursues academia and finds it much different than someone with tenure would project it. Thank you for sharing all that you did.

I'm very grateful that you made this video. I'm a 32 year-old guy from the UK with a PhD in religious philosophy. I've faced very similar problems to you, having chosen a field which works against me and being someone who enjoys teaching as much as research. I've also applied for hundreds of jobs and have thoroughly been pidgeonholed as the 'adjunct type'. I've sacrified everything for that career, including an engagement. I've moved countries more times than I count. I could have been married and had kids by now (she married someone else recently). You mentioned the stress, which I can relate to. It almost did me in a couple of times. I was obssessed with the idea that I could also be one of the elite few (tenured professors), out of love for my field but also because of family expectations and a certain snobbishness on my part. Now I have a completely different job in industry. I'm having to start from the bottom and build up a completely new set of skills. Life's really tough, but I now have the stability and long-term vision that always escaped me as an 'academic' chasing semester or (at best) year-long contracts.

I am thankful to have known your work, sir.

Dr. Jackson Crawford you are a true scholar an an educator. Please continue.

This really helped me. Thank you Jackson.

Dr.Crawford, I hope you see this. You are very inspirational, I hope I speak for all of your subscribers when I say we appreciate all of the good work you've put in over the years. As someone who owns all of your translations, I look forward to reading them for years to come. And I look forward to seeing the next translations you add to the list. What is next in the Grapevine? The Prose Edda? Or will you be translating more sagas? Either way, that money is going to be happily spent. And with that, I wish you all the best.

Great, honest and helpful video.

Thank you for making yourself vulnerable on such a wide scale to help others. I hope you too can continue to do what you love & live the way you want to.

A genuinely good man. I have nothing but respect for you.

Really eye opening, and I'm glad you shared your experiences. I'm so sorry you had to deal with those things. I really wish you the best going forward.

I enjoy your musings on life and your storytelling just as much if not more than your old Norse content. I would love some sort of weekly podcast where you just ramble about things.

I really appreciate what ya said. Could relate to much of what ya talked about. Thank you for this. This really helped me, & I know it helped a ton of others. Great video as always mate.

as someone taking the first steps of academia, this was so important for me, thank you so much for everything.

Thank you Jackson, for choosing to be vulnerable and bringing all this forward - to strangers essentially! This is important stuff, and the best advice I wish I had had as a High School student. Rather than discouraging, you are inspiring. I wish you every success in self-employment - keep doing what you love!

I've really enjoyed your videos the last few years. You found something you love and took it all the way. Then you shared it with the world, all before age 38. Amazing.

I love the information you've been putting out on old norse anything. I'd really like to see an accurate series on both norse mythology and the sagas. You at least should be a top advisor.

Thanks man, I really enjoyed listening to what you said. I was really considering your career path myself, I love how honest you are. I wish you all the best on youtube and I will keep on watching ❤

Thank you for your wise words and speaking on such personal topics. Btw my copy of "Wanderer's Havamal" arrived just recently, wonderful stuff. Keep up the good work!

As a person applying for a masters in American history in a few weeks, this helps tremendously in putting my future career options into perspective. Thank you.

Like so many people here, this video has incredible value and I hope that those who can relate will consider your advice. Anyone can benefit from being told that their intellect and curiosity is valuable and what they can build with that to make them happy and lead a good life should be the priority. I didn't come here thinking I'd be moved from hearing all that, but I really needed to hear it... Sincerely, thank you.

This video brought me great comfort as I struggle to find a job in my field with a bachelor's degree. Thank you for this

For the record, I do think you're a fantastic teacher. Not just in old norse but also in life lessons . I regularly listen to you just for insight and retrospect . Keep it up and know you have the support of many , many , people .

Wow!!! Dr. Crawford- this is one of the most important videos I have ever seen on YT!!! It's very raw, very honest and very candid- no need to apologize for being honest. I'm 51 in a couple weeks and pretty much everything you described was what drove me out of service after 11 years in the army. My eldest son (a decade younger than you ha ha) wants to be in academics someday and I passed this video along to him. I think you are doing great- as the saying that is credited to Sun Tzu goes- The man who live with depression struggles with his past, the man who lives with anxiety struggles with the future. The man who is serene lives in the present. It's the little things in life that make it worth living and where you will find your greatest treasures. My life's enjoyment is watching my dogs in my backyard and the toads that reside there. Simple yet very calming and enjoyable.

I’m really glad you made this video. I’m British so the system might be quite different, but this lines up with plenty of things I’ve heard from Brits and Americans. It’s brutal what you’ve had to go through but despite everything, you’ve got a positive attitude to life and you’re aiming upwards. This video was a perfect balance of telling your personal experience, making valuable points about the reality of the academic path and still encouraging people who have intellectual interests and I thank you for that. You’re a great man.

thank you for your honesty!

Such a nice video and lovely backdrop.

Thank you for coming across as quite real, and attempting to give the wisdom of your experience.

Thank you for your honesty. I have been in academia for nearly thirty years. I have both seen and experienced many of the things you mentioned here. Thank you for your excellent instruction on KZfaq. I wish you all the best from sunny Montgomery Alabama.

Thank you a lot for this video! As an idealistic teenager who's starting to study linguistics in university, your video really made me think and I hope that I'll look back on it when I'll have to make a decision regarding my career in the future.

needed to be reminded of this right now, so thank you for saying it, and thank you for sharing some difficult experiences. i think what you said at 10:48 is one of the things that confused me about academia for so long, i could never quite get over it. there is a bizarre cognitive dissonance in academia about this, and a lack of acknowledgement that the university system isn't just "broken", it's ruthless and exploitative towards so many (often less fortunate) people. all the best from michigan.

I just entered my Master’s degree in Linguistics (and beginning to teach German) this year, so this advice and your stories are sobering, and I can relate to them a lot. I admittedly feel nervous with teaching and grad school, but I hope that I can at least do good at my work, no matter what that may be. Thank you, Dr. Crawford. You were an inspiration for me to further my love into Indo-European (spec. Germanic) linguistics, so this means a lot to me. Thank you again.

I really appreciate this you sharing your message.

I'm feeling in a similar place in my career, except I never finished school and I'm in electronics production. As you may guess, I love learning and meeting new people who do as well. I just wanted to thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge and experience on here, and I hope people like us find a better way to connect and share like this using social media in the future.

Thank you for the video, not in academia, but still relatable in many ways. Feel like I'm at a crossroads career wise, and your remark about having high ambition but low self-esteem definitely hit close to home!

Vulnerability is key to strength and growth. Congrats on your success on KZfaq and congrats on making this video in particular. You worked hard to get where you are in terms of your knowledge and harder in terms of life challenges. I love your advice regarding career and how it fits into life. It is but one piece of the puzzle!

I appreciate the thought you put into your videos 👍

Grateful for Dr. Crawford’s existence

I like this video a lot. I would definitely be interested in hearing more of your experience/opinions on topics like this or even beyond this subject’s realm.

Thanks for a heartfelt talk on your experience. Fellow academic here, but in science. Many similarities between our fields.

Dang, doc! Did you end the video with a rocket launch? We love you because you are a real person and you honestly communicate. I wish I could make me a job like yours; I studied history and that field is saturated well beyond limits everywhere. Your narrower specialization gives you quite an edge in this format. I wish you luck. BTW, bought most of your books. Got one left on the TBR pile. Good stuff.

Thank you for sharing this, Dr. Crawford! I'm finishing my master's and it made me check my ideals with academia before persuing. I'm still not sure where to go now, but I can say not a lot of people speak truthfully about academia so thank you for sharing your story. Congrats on the sobriety too!

I'm a twenty year-old undergraduate student and I'm immensely thankful for this advice. I've heard it in various short forms from people whom I respect, but none of them have shared in such compelling detail or made this impact on me. Very thankful to have seen this ahead of my graduation, with time to think more about the path I'm headed down. Thank you, Dr. Crawford!

Thank you for your brave and important insights.

I am happy to have found you books and your channel several years ago.. I’m just a little bit older than you are.. however you have become what appears to be a very level headed and intelligent man.. despite the troubles and hardest of the past.. something myself and many others can relate to..

Thank you for sharing this heartfelt message. It's likely already benefited more people than you know.

I'm not an academic, but what you say tracks with what I've seen on even an undergraduate level. Thank you.

Thanks, Jackson. I've greatly appreciated your forum and wish you and everyone out there success wrapped in soundness of spirit--i.e., happiness in looking for some kind of pony buried in that pile of manure that life brings you!

Thanks for sharing. We're all rooting for you whatever the future looks like.

So much truth, spoken with grace.

Nice to hear your thoughts

Congratulations on 8 years, Jackson.

This was useful, as is all your work. I know, you have your troubles, physically and mentally, we probably all do. At least to an extent. I myself will always be a massive fan of yours, regardless of what you do. I will continue to watch you, buy your books and sub to your Patreon, Because I truly Love you and your work. Keep your head up.

You will steer many people rightly with this. Admitting what you have here takes courage few people on a similar path have. It's honest. I encourage you to lean into doing what you must to keep the lights on, and do it knowing that your work in this medium is admired. It's inspiring to no end in its rigor and accessibility. Well done.

I'm sorry for what you and so many academics, especially adjuncts, have been through.