My students seem to think that I get the whole summer off. Since they leave for a few months, the school must surely shut down in their absence, right?
The faculty seem divided when it comes to summer work. Since our salary is for nine months, some feel that they shouldn't work in the summer (actually, they refuse to work in the summer). Others view the summer as the only time to move forward on research, and so they work even if they do not have a summer stipend.
I fall in the latter category. My salary is more than enough to live on all year (we're paid in 12 installments, after all). If I don't work in the summer, I won't have enough research done by the time I go up for tenure. That is how it works at most undergrad institutions. Is it that different in the non-sciences?
What about you? Do you work when you technically aren't paid?
