orichalcum: (ye pubbe)
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posted by [personal profile] orichalcum at 04:21pm on 13/04/2009
Supreme Court Justices who complain about their workload.

If you happen to be a Supreme Court Justice, first of all, you only have formal court sessions three days a week, two weeks a month, 8 months or less a year. Now, yes, there's a lot of writing to be done in those off times - in which you are aided by multiple extremely talented, able assistants, who will work as long hours as you tell them to do as much of the work for you as you want.

Look, I'm an academic. And, yes, sometimes I'll whine in a stressful week. But I'm well aware of the lifestyle perks of my job, and how it compares to a conventional job where you work 9-6 every day or the many, many industries where you're expected to work 60-80 hours a week, let alone, say, medical residents and legal associates. I have it easy - and I like it that way. But I try not to whine about how difficult my overall schedule is, because I'm well aware of how good I have it.

If you can't deal with the workload of a practically part-time job that thousands of lawyers and judges in the U.S. would give their eyeteeth for, there's a simple solution to this problem. Resign.
Mood:: 'tired' tired
There are 6 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] feir-fireb.livejournal.com at 04:18am on 14/04/2009
I read the article several times and couldn't find any references to schedule or workload. So I don't think when he talked about "getting tired" and "an ordeal", I don't think he meant anything nearly so banal as that. Based on what I know of his background and the things he's been most frustrated with in the time since his nomination, it sounds more like he's talking about a more psychological exhaustion that you can have in spades if you work 20 hours a week or not at all if you work 80, depending upon your background and current stressors. I think if I'd been through everything he's been through and knew that a significant portion of the country had absolutely no sympathy for me, I'd be a little worn out too.
 
posted by [identity profile] orichalcum.livejournal.com at 04:31am on 14/04/2009
I was in particular thinking about the mention of watching "Saving Private Ryan" on the "many occasions when things had become a little routine," which seems less about psychological stress to me and more about not really loving his job. But I can see where your interpretation is coming from, certainly. I still feel like, particularly since for the last eight years he had a President from his party, that if it's an ordeal, he shouldn't have kept doing it.
 
posted by [identity profile] feir-fireb.livejournal.com at 05:04am on 14/04/2009
I'm not sure Thomas is even very comfortable with his own party (even neglecting the obvious disconnect between law and politics). He strikes me as rather alienated across the board.

But I find it hard to imagine that anyone who cared about the law and had made a career on it would want to resign from something like the Supreme Court simply on the basis that things had become a bit too stressful or the passion had gone out of it. That's not just a job, that's a vocation. And you don't stop doing it just because you don't have a spring in your step all the time.
 
posted by [identity profile] wildpaletz.livejournal.com at 02:05pm on 14/04/2009
Yeah, he sounded depressed to me.
 
posted by [identity profile] jab2.livejournal.com at 04:25am on 14/04/2009
also, although the academic lifestyle is very flexible, i would say that this is the first semester since i started teaching 5 years ago that i haven't worked 6-12 hours every weekday plus 4-8 hours each weekend day, averaging 60 hours/week. and i'm about to put my head down and work back into that schedule. yes, i'm only in class 5 hours a week, but that has almost nothing to do with how much work and stress i have, statistically speaking.
 
posted by [identity profile] orichalcum.livejournal.com at 04:32am on 14/04/2009
I think you do a lot more class prep than I do...and certainly I think most tenured academics work much less than 60 hours/week.

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