u/Organic-Violinist223

We’ve had our two kids (4y and 18mo) off on holidays the past 6 or 7 weeks! Today both kids are in some sort of education and I (m40) have done nothing at work! I’m exhausted! Is this normal?

I’m a lecturer at a UK university and I’m increasingly confused/frustrated by the way progression seems to work.

I’ve recently been given additional programme-level leadership responsibilities, but there’s been no increase in salary or grade. I didn’t apply for the role — I was basically told that I’d be taking it on.

What seems strange to me is that, when it comes to promotion, the expectation appears to be that you first demonstrate that you’re already operating at the next grade for a sustained period, and then apply to be promoted and paid accordingly.

So essentially: take on more responsibility, do work that looks like it belongs at the higher grade, receive your existing salary while doing it, build enough evidence, and eventually make a case that you should be paid for the level of work you’ve already been doing.

Is this genuinely just how academia works?
I can understand needing evidence that someone is ready for promotion, but it feels odd compared with jobs where a significant increase in responsibility would normally come with a new job title, salary or allowance at the point you take it on.

I’m particularly interested in experiences from UK academics. How long did you find yourself doing work above your grade before promotion? Did you get workload allocation or any other recognition in the meantime? And at what point do you push back and say that additional responsibilities need to come with either reduced duties elsewhere or proper progression?

Some of you might find this useful despite my career not being the most optimised.

Degree in biochemistry: 2004 - 2008. Uk university

PhD in systems biology: 2011 - 2015. RG UK university.2 first author papers

Teaching fellow of biotechnology: 2015 - 2019. UK university. 3 co-author papers and a teaching qualification.

Postdoc in computational biology: 2019-2022. French university, 1 x first author paper.

postdoc in computational biology: 2022-2024, French university, 1 x first author paper

Lecturer of computational biology, RG UK university. I teach bioinformatics and computational biology and co-supervise PhD students! Feel free to ask any questions! My research involves modelling metabolism using Flux Balance Analysis.
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Small rant! We all know kids parties involve this tradition of a party bag, whose contents mostly end up in the bin! But slime omg what is the function of this product??? If its purpose is to spend all morning scraping it out of the sofa, what a shitter of a product! Can I humbly ask you all to stop putting tubs of slime in party bags! Many thanks!

Edit: over 90 upvotes vs a few people telling me slime is essential for messy play!

Seems the overall majority of parents agree with me that slime is not necessary, just like the overall idea of a party bag, I guess! It’s all tat at the end of the day!

At the start of January I could barely run for a couple of minutes without stopping.
I’m 40, work a desk job, two kids, not much free time and decided it was time to get fitter. I also cut right back on alcohol and started going to the gym for strength training a few times a week.
Today I ran 6 km continuously, and just a few days ago I finally broke the barrier of running 5 km in a tick under 30 minutes.
The biggest surprise has been how much I’ve started to enjoy running, or enjoy the feeling of hitting targets. At first it was just something I forced myself to do. Now it feels like part of my lifestyle alongside weights, cycling with my family, and getting in the sea whenever the weather and tide allow. I enjoy wingsurfing and just can’t get the time to go, so to stay fit the gym and treadmill work for me!
I’m not chasing races or trying to become a marathon runner. My goal is simply to stay healthy, feel strong, and be active with my kids as they grow up.
For those of you who started later in life:
Did you aim for a faster 5K next, or build up to 10K?
At what point did running start to feel “easy” for you?
It’s taken about seven months of consistency, and I’m really glad I stuck with it.

Car insurance is up for renewal, and my current insurer, LV asked for £460 for the year, £40 cheaper than last year, same car, same address, same driver! I’ve gone onto a price comparison website and other companies have come up way cheaper, I’ve just never heard of them! The one I did head off is RAC and they have a company called RAC online who ask for£286! The Postoffice also is cheaper and with RAC breakdown is £290. I’m tempted by the Postoffice as it seems they have a working phone number and human support. Should I switch?

My internet is working, I just can’t seem to access any of the home pages!

Hi all, I’ve been collecting stamps (1 stamp for every £10 spent) but recently the points aren’t being added to my account! Can anyone help ?

Yeah it sucks, but my question is, is this normal? I’m learning to Wingsurf, in the UK. I had 5 lessons and could go out, take flight, turnaround and comeback! Awesome, I thought, and bought a load of gear!

I’m very time poor as I have two kids and two jobs, I can only Wingsurf on a Thursday so I get out about once a month with my new gear! The first time I went out, I was wobbly as hell and couldn’t control the wing, I was overpowered, so bought a smaller wing. Today was Thursday, both kids in school, zero work meetings for either job and it was windy, so took my 4 m wing out, the first hour was messy but then it all came back, the control, turning, flight and was working on sustained flight when I just hit the water hard! My board fell and floated upside down and my wing landed on, and went through the stabiliser! Gutting! Has this happened to any of you?

We bought a house last year, and we replaced old Velux windows earlier this year as they were rotten and leaking! A reputable local roofing company fitter Dakia windows, which were great until I saw them also leaking, leaks appear to be coming in close to the window frame! Can I ask /expect the roofing company to solve this?

I recently moved from a beautiful southern European city with beach access and mountains, for a lecturing position in a RG university up north! Not only is the weather generally terrible, I’ve been told it’s a 3 year probation and I’m worried I could get fired if I don’t pass the confirmation meeting! I’m doing everything I can, taking the PGCAP, I’m on a teaching and scholarship contract, so I’ve been told I have no duty for grant income but I do supervise phds and would like to co-write grants to expand my team! What exactly can I expect at the confirmation of appointment meeting ? Can I fail this and then get fired?

West Kirby is a strange town! There are only the super rich! People don’t seem to work yet live in houses worth half a million! Where are the normal families with normal working parents earning median salaries ?

We moved into our house 1 year ago, and it’s ok, not perfect, not bad! We plan on selling in 10 years! Today, our next door neighbours put their house on the market and it’s exactly the house we were looking forward! It’s like ours, just with a better labour and a garage! How to get over the envy / emptiness feeling I have?

Anyone else struggling to access?

EDIT: I restarted my computer and I could then log in!

Hi all, 40M living in England! Last year me and my partner bought our second home, and it’s not our forever home, and would like to move again in 10 years!

We have 260k left on mortgage for 20 years but overpaying every month and aiming for 10 years!

I have 7k in LISA, 7k in Cash ISA and 8k in savings as my emergency buffer! Every month I can save £1500 after paying mortgage and bills and still lead a comfortable month!

Every month I can currently save £500 in my cash isa, £500 in savings to increase emergency buffer, £200 in a 6.5% reward saver and leaving me with £300 which I don’t know what to do with! I’m thinking of opening a stocks and shares ISA to help with deposit for next house in 10 years, which my cashISA was originally set up for!

Does it make sense for me to pay 300 into a S&S isa, or should I put the extra 300 into my cash ISA?