SGA - After having read a fair amount of future-fics I wonder ...

[patk]

...why it's always only John who gets promoted.

"General" Sheppard is a frequent occurrence in SGA future-fics but I have yet to come upon a story in which Rodney has managed to become "Professor" McKay.

I know, whereas a promotion to "General" doesn't need any extra education/training/schooling outside of your job because it's a designated step on the path of a military career which you may be able to reach if you're good enough, one has to work hard in addition to a day job to earn the title of "Professor". You don't become a professor just because you are a Doctor and very, very good in your field. You have to work actively on earning the title of "Professor" - time consuming, I would guess.

But does actually nobody think that Rodney would actually strive to achieve this after the immediate threats in Pegasus have slowed down somewhat?

Or is there a different reason which I'm not seeing?

Anyway, "Professor" McKay doesn't seem to be in Rodney's future (except perhaps for total AUs).

ETA: Thanks to Istia and Clavally I'm now properly informed why it would not make sense for Rodney to want to be a professor. :-)

Who said being in fandom isn't educational? *ggg*

Comments

[0ftgx]

I don't know if it's different in the US, but in Canada, "Professor" is simply a courtesy title for anyone who teaches at a university. There's no other distinction or status and it's not used outside universities. University teachers are small-p "professors", from the 1st-year newbies to ones who've had tenure for 30 years and have won a bunch of prestigious awards, etc. If they quit teaching, they're no longer a professor, so they no longer get called Professor.

My personal canon for Rodney is that being a professor is the last thing he wants. *g* But if he did want it, he could likely get a job at any university he wanted in the blink of an eye! And, presto, he'd be a prof. :)

[patk]

Ah, now that explains a lot.

I don't know how it is in the States (since I live in Germany) but if there's nothing to gain for Rodney he would of course not want it.

Well, in this case: is there anything higher for him to achieve in his (academic) career beyond the two PhDs he already has? Aside from a nobel prize, of course. ;-)

Well, I guess not and if that's the case it makes perfect sense that it's always only John who we see having reached a higher rank in his professional career.

Thanks for clarifying. :-)

[0ftgx]

Right, "Doctor" is the highest academic title he can achieve.

As a Canadian, he could conceivably at some point receive a decoration that recognises the value of his achievements, like the Order of Merit or the Order of Canada. In that case, he'd be able to append letters to the end of his name: Dr Rodney McKay, OM, CM. Might need a fair bit of declassification before his accomplishments are fully known, though.

I suspect he wouldn't mind preening a little over those additions to his name, heh.

[patk]

>> Might need a fair bit of declassification before his accomplishments are fully known, though.<<

Well, since we're talking future fics here ...

>>I suspect he wouldn't mind preening a little over those additions to his name, heh.<<

Hehe, there would definitely be preening!

I think since there's no higher academic degree he can reach he would certainly love to get this form of regocnition for his achievements.

And wouldn't those letters look lovely appended to the end of his name? I'm sure Rodney would see that the same way. ;-)

Thanks for these gems of info. :-)

[clavally]

I agree with the previous comment. "Professor" is a job title you only get from a university, so it wouldn't make any sense for him to have it. Even then, it's been my experience that most professors prefer being addressed as "doctor" anyway.

[patk]

Because "doctor" is the academic degree and "professor" would only mean he's teaching at an university and nothing else, right?

Well, in this case: is there even an higher step on his (academical) career-ladder that he could achieve beyond the two PhDs he already has?

[clavally]

Because "doctor" is the academic degree and "professor" would only mean he's teaching at an university and nothing else, right?

Yes, exactly. Only people with doctorates can be professors, at least in the US, but professors are only employed at universities and it usually means their valuable time for research is being used up on administrative stuff and teaching.


The only thing above getting a doctorate in something is getting a prestigious award like the Nobel.

[patk]

>>The only thing above getting a doctorate in something is getting a prestigious award like the Nobel. <<

Ah, that explains a lot. *g* So, aside from getting prestigious awards, with his doctorates Rodney has already reached the upper end of his professional ladder as an academic.

>>it usually means their valuable time for research is being used up on administrative stuff and teaching. <<

Which would be the last thing Rodney wants, of course. So, I take it, there are no "professors" working exclusively in research since it's only a job title for doctors teaching at an university. You work in research, you are "Doctor" XY (and wouldn't want to be called anything else since that academic degree is the hightest you get anyway).

Thanks for this educational exchange of comments. :-)

[clavally]

And now I'm going to completely confuse you. My brother-in-law has a doctorate in cellular biology and works at a university, but he's not a professor. He does, however, work in the lab of a professor as a researcher. :p

In essence, though, your last sentence was right. In terms of titles, "doctor" is the pinnacle for Rodney.

[patk]

*blinks*

*thinks*

*is properly confused*

*tries to hack through the confusion*

Regarding your brother I'm going out on a limb here and assume that your brother-in-law is not a professor because he's not *teaching* at this university but working as a researcher while his boss, the professor, apparently does both: teaching (that's why he is a professor) and resarch (because he has a lab).

Right? Right?

[clavally]

Yes! This doesn't happen at smaller universities. He works for a large university that has the funding to employ people who's sole purpose is research. He often laments having to work on someone else's research instead of having his own lab.

[patk]

>>Yes!<<

\0/ Looks like I have caught on to it. ;-)

>>He often laments having to work on someone else's research instead of having his own lab. <<

Having his own lab would surely be nice.

Well, at least he doesn't have Doctor McKay as his boss. ;-)

[clavally]

:D

Very true, having Rodney as a boss would surely suck!

[kate]

Because "doctor" is the academic degree and "professor" would only mean he's teaching at an university and nothing else, right?

You know, in 99% of cases, I would say yes, but I have to say that at MIT (where I'm currently working), it's actually a big deal to be called "professor" and the faculty gets very upset if you call them "doctor" and not "professor." That is really strange to me, as there are a lot of faculty at other places that aren't PhDs, so obviously it's "doctor" that is the more prestigious title. But MIT is weird (big surprise there).

ETA: And actually clavally has hit upon this phenomenon up there - basically, at MIT, everyone does research, so everyone's a doctor. Even the people who do grunt work (post-docs) are doctors. But only select people actually get to teach. Thus why the "professor" is the coveted title in this case. But at any rate, one Rodney probably wouldn't want, regardless (except in synecdochic's brilliant Freedom and fics like it).

[em_kellesvig]

As CSO of Atlantis, McKay's as high as he can get without a Nobel. Once declassification hits, every one of his peers will know just how high on the ladder he is and that Nobel won't be long in coming. But, as 0ftgx said, a couple of medals from Canada would be icing on the cake.

[patk]

Oops, don't know how I missed your comment here. I'm Sorry about not responding sooner.

>>But, as istia said, a couple of medals from Canada would be icing on the cake. <<

That's right. He's proud of his academic title(s) and does want this Nobel. So I guess he wouldn't exactly mind to be bestowed with those medals. :-)

[helenkacan]

The only promotion that Rodney might get - after his Nobel(s), naturally - might be when the Stargate project is declassified and he were to, say, head up some international physics think tank. So, he'd be "Director" of it.

Though I do like the sound of him getting an Order of Canada. I can just imagine the induction ceremony presided by the Governor General (with John elbowing him and reminding him to "play nice").

[patk]

Oops, I don't know why I missed your comment here. Sorry for responding so late.

So, what you're basically saying is that the only promotion left for him would be to become the actual head of an institution instead of being "merely" being the head of a division of an institution, even if this position puts him only second to the actual leader.

Career-wise this would be the next (and probably highest) step though it wouldn't necessarily include/mean academic acknowledgment since the selection process for this kind of administrative/ management posting isn't exclusively based on academical achievements. That's why I like the idea of the Order of Canada as an acknowledgment for his achievements as a whole. It's more of a tribute than "just" a professional promotion on the career-ladder.

I could imagine that Rodney is actually more after the acknowledgment of his accomplishments than after the money (and the management work) of a higher leading professional position.

We know from the series' canon that he liked the idea of becoming Elizabeth's replacement but I have the impression that this had more to do with having his accomplishments acknowledged by getting the highest position in exactly this city, Atlantis, for which he has worked this long and hard. I doubt he would have reacted as eager if it had been a position for which he would have had to leave Atlantis.

So, yes, I like the idea of Rodney getting the Order of Merit or Order of Canada and the letters that go with them to append to his name. I have the slight suspicion he would like that too. ;-)