Viral TikTok Professor or Grifter? Academia’s Harsh Reality
Dear Magicians,
I’m typically a softie when it comes to my fellow academic wage serfs who are the heart of not only the university’s labor force but its entire raison d’être, its mission — after all, no Professors, no PhDs, Bachelors, or even DEI offices 😀.
Labor always seems shafted by the system: overworked, under-appreciated, and underpaid are the top three complaints of the life of the mind. And I gripe about them, too. There’s a reason I call higher education “The Academic Hunger Games.”
This week, I waded into dangerous waters, uncharted academic territory — I criticized a fellow astrophysicist from my own university system — a risky move, especially when that colleague is lower on the academic ladder. Normally, I avoid punching down; engaging with trolls or responding to snarky comments isn’t my style. But sometimes, the thin air atop the Ivory Tower makes even the brightest minds a bit lightheaded, breeding entitlement that’s hard to ignore.
Enter our viral UCLA lecturer. In the age of TikTok, his grievances have been broadcast to millions, painting a picture of academia as a den of exploitation. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: academia is capitalism in a cap and gown. And in capitalism, nobody’s irreplaceable.
Titles like “Adjunct Professor” or “Lecturer” conjure images of hallowed halls and lifelong quests for knowledge. But let’s not kid ourselves — being cloistered among ivy-covered walls doesn’t grant immunity from market forces. It can foster a false sense of exceptionalism. Just because you’re passionate about quarks or quadratic equations doesn’t mean the universe (or the university) owes you a cushy paycheck.
Our friend believes he’s entitled to compensation based on his self-assessed worth. News flash: your value isn’t determined by your diploma or TikTok followers; the market dictates it. Harsh? Maybe. True? Absolutely.
Universities are businesses, no matter how much Latin they sprinkle into their mottos. They have budgets, stakeholders, and, yes, bottom lines. The romantic notion that academia floats above the grubby realities of capitalism is as outdated as overhead projectors.
We’re all players in the same economic game. Accepting that isn’t selling out; it’s waking up. Instead of railing against the system, maybe it’s time to adapt, innovate, and find where you can add value. Otherwise, you might be another voice lost in the digital wind, shouting into the void while capitalism marches on.
Does this individual believe his skills warrant special treatment? One can only wonder. He never speaks of a genuine passion for teaching, nor does he emphasize any specialized training he’s undertaken to improve in his role. Instead, his focus seems singular: a personal financial dissatisfaction. This lecturer claiming to be a professor earns a respectable $70,000 annually — well above 75% of SAG-AFTRA members in Los Angeles — and demands more. The position comes with benefits an aspiring actor would find impossible to resist, such as health insurance, retirement contributions, and a flexible teaching schedule, yet he’s dissatisfied. And frankly, I have zero sympathy.
Professors across the country are dissatisfied with their salaries. Adjunct and tenure track work significantly harder, juggling research, grants, mentorship, and institutional service, often for little more pay. Meanwhile, adjuncts like this one teach a single course with minimal responsibility beyond the lecture hall. Worse, they’re leaning on teaching assistants — paid a third of what they make — to adapt to their personal choices, like refusing to teach in person. This is particularly galling when students have paid for the on-campus experience.
Zoom sucks, and everyone knows it.
Yet, nowhere does this lecturer mention the passion for teaching that many of his peers display. Where are the stories of demanding a better contract and demonstrating his worth through innovation or excellence in the classroom? Instead, he has breached his contract by moving off-campus without departmental approval. Even full professors with decades of experience don’t unilaterally decide to teach from their beachfront properties.
The core issue here isn’t just his decision to teach remotely; it’s this lecturer’s misuse of the title “Professor.” He’s counting on the fact that most public doesn’t understand the distinction between tenure-track professors, adjuncts, and other academic staff. And this distinction matters.
Worst of all, he lies about being homeless! I hear you now, “Lying on TikTok!!??” Yes, I couldn’t believe it either. He not only claims it on his viral TikTok (which I refuse to link), but he also allowed the major news stations in LA to perpetuate the myth of his homelessness. He later clarifies his original disingenuous claim and updates his status to ’not officially homeless.’
I doubt any of the tens of thousands of actually and tragically homeless people on LA’s Skid Row would trade their situation for his in a second. He got a 6% raise to $70,000 per year after one year on the job and promptly shuffled down to San Diego to live on the cheap while collecting his wages from UCLA! The piece de resistance comes at the end of his one-minute rant seen by millions, which amounts to “Please send me money and follow me on Youtube,” the latter venue where he shares the exact lectures his UCLA undergraduates pay $40–70K per year to watch on Zoom!
Tenure track Professors commit to a lifetime of research, student advising, fundraising, and serving their institutions. The positions are limited, fiercely competitive, and come with immense responsibility. To call for the same compensation without the same obligations or contributions is not only misguided but an affront to those who have dedicated their careers to academic life.
Living in the greater Los Angeles area is tough. I get it. I lived there on half of what he made twenty years ago. But so is life for UCLA postdocs and graduate students who make half of what this adjunct is earning right now, yet don’t complain. Many adjuncts around the country are indeed underpaid and overworked. But this case is different. He is compensated fairly for the position he holds. The problem isn’t his salary — it’s his misunderstanding of what it means to be part of academia.
This viral lecturer is not just critiquing his situation; he’s critiquing the structure of universities at large. He is, to some extent, correct. The academic system is deeply flawed, with adjuncts often exploited and tenure-track positions growing increasingly scarce. However, the solution to this problem is not to cry out for more pay without offering more in return. It’s to acknowledge the reality of the system you’ve entered and, if unsatisfied, either find a way to cut costs, innovate, or move on.
Sorry, “Professor,” academia, like any sector in capitalism, rewards those who bring value. You must display tenure-level innovation, responsibility, and commitment if you want tenure-level pay. Otherwise, you’re just another player in the system, deeply misrepresenting and misunderstanding the game.
Until next time, have a M.A.G.I.C. Week,
Brian
Appearance
☺️I’m blushing. Sabine Hossenfelder made another video about me… well, not only about me. But it screamed to the top of her most popular recent videos, and I can’t help but feel proud that I had played a role in inspiring her.
Genius
Scientists studying Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night have discovered that the painting’s swirling patterns match how the atmosphere works. They found that the painting matches Kolmogorov’s theory of energy spreading and Batchelor’s scaling, which explains how turbulence and energy move around in the air. This means that Van Gogh had a profound way of understanding nature, maybe because of how clouds and the atmosphere moved or because of something inside of them moved him.
Image
An incredible picture, “Startrail Cactus,” by my friend and sometime photographer, Erik Jepsen, reminds me of what a primitive astronomical observatory in the Sonoran Desert might look like!
Credit: Erik Jepsen
Conversation
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