13 January 2010
By William Parnell
I recently returned home from a 3 month research visit to the Colorado School of Mines in the US. On my journey home on the plane I reflected (aren't we encourage to reflect these days?!) on what an extraordinary experience this was. It was my first "real" visit to the US other than conference visits to New York and Hawaii, both of which (I believe) are singularities on the US landscape.
I reflected upon what an integral part such visits play in the development of a researcher, particularly those in the early stages of their career. I have always known that such visits are important, having had numerous similar experiences in Europe (one particularly memorable experience on one of these was being shown a CNRS demonstration in Paris, attended by 10,000 frustrated academics!) but this current trip was by far the longest and so was perhaps more formative than any other. Seeing how things are done elsewhere can have a huge effect on the way that one performs their role in normal activities back home.
Above all however, I realized that to even partially understand a system, you really have to experience it for yourself. People in the UK often told me how US academics are better paid, have more time for research (less teaching) and are more respected by society than their UK counterparts. They also spoke about how much better the students are and how their PhD system was far superior. However, on discussions with US academics, I was surprised to find that many thought the exact opposite, expressing how they thought that the European (and British) system was utopian!
This notion of experiencing a "system" has importance far beyond academic research of course. But, it will remain one of the key factors in researchers spending time abroad in varied environments.
Sarah Davies13 January 2010 at 05:24 PM
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Interesting that you found the 'grass is always greener...' effect. I recently had a conversation with a British academic who, after 20 years teaching in the US, is now back in the UK. He certainly thought the US system was better! Maybe it ends up being 'better the devil you know...'!
Matthew Salois14 January 2010 at 08:23 PM
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Having been in the UK for nearly two years now (I am from Florida) I can say that at least in my field (agricultural economics), academic staff in the US do tend to be much better paid (even after accounting for the exchange rates). That aside, most of my US colleagues are quite envious of my experiences in the UK. Moreover, in my experience UK staff tend to have more time for research and have less teaching responsibilities; especially since they are not burdened with extension responsibilities as most US land-grant university staff are. But I agree with you that perspective is a wonderful thing that can only be truly gained by spending a good deal of time abroad (above and beyond conference presentations).