Thread by @ashleyruba

I don’t want to disappoint, so here’s my “intense and completely unhinged retaliatory tweet.”

If you like your academic job, you can stay in academia. That’s okay. You can mute/block me too 💛

With that said, I feel pretty sad that this is how some people perceive me... 1/

It hurts when people call me “anti-academic.” I spent a decade of my life in academia. I dreamed of being a professor.

I sacrificed so much. I worked so hard. Just look at my CV. I did everything I could.

But academia isn’t a meritocracy. It wasn’t enough. 2/

https://twitter.com/ashleyruba/status/1525123656258560003

A fourth year of a post-doc or an #altac job. Those were my choices in January 2022. I chose the latter. And I’m happy now.

My first job wasn’t at a FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google). All my interviews were still between $95k-$120k - twice my post-doc salary. 3/

https://twitter.com/ashleyruba/status/1574760477682434048

Many people have questioned my motives this past week. I’m sorry to say it’s just altruism. I felt so isolated in my job search - I don’t want anyone else to feel that way.

I never wanted to be an #altac martyr. I’m just really bad at saying no when people want my help. 4/

Anyways, I’ve been thinking about this old thread lately. I wrote it when I had 6,000 fewer followers & a lot more patience.

I would love to delete my Twitter, but I won’t. But I will be taking more mental health breaks b/c behind these tweets is a real person with feelings 🥺💛

https://twitter.com/ashleyruba/status/1551580244628357123