UCLA is (not really) hiring

My friend Diane Schirf sent me a job listing:

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA seeks applications for an Assistant Adjunct Professor on a without salary basis. Applicants must understand there will be no compensation for this position.

Yes, it’s real. I’ve seen speculation that an insider — perhaps a UCLA researcher — may want to do some teaching and that fair-hiring practices require a job listing. Who knows. But I don’t doubt that UCLA will receive applications from outsiders — wishful thinkers who imagine that this position will afford a chance for future UCLA prospects.

As I thought about this job announcement, I was reminded that academia is indeed something of a cult. Cults, too, expect members to work with little or no compensation.

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March 20: The job announcement has disappeared. (It’s still easy to find on Twitter.) The Facebook page for the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry now has a fogged-up, poorly written apology of sorts:

[Click for a larger apology.]

I can only conclude that someone already affiliated with UCLA is the intended candidate. I am imagining a dimly lit lab:

“You got a nice set-up here. A nice little grant. It’d be a shame to see anything happen to it. Now get in that classroom!”

Two more job listings
An extraordinary amount of work for $28,000 a year : “Our students tend to be poorly prepared”