Great job,being a talent assessor like Mel Kyper, Peter Gammons or Charlsea Cantey.

[BrentCrude]

Wow,who died and made them the be all to end all on evaluating talent?What a great job to never quit being a kid being a sports fanatic groupie and continuing to do so all of your life.These guys can't coach and they probably don't handicap well or bet at all.Same goes for all the horse racing authorities like Charlsea Cantey?or whatever her name is.She knows every bloodline and is a true expert on thoroughbreds but she couldn't pick a winner if she tried.I don't think I ever heard the woman pick a winner but she knows the horse she picks to win better than her own kids.Then you have these golf coaches that never even came close to being on the PGA tour and the Tiger Woods's of the world go on every direction they give them.If the guy knows so much about golf,you think he would have eeked out some measely 50th place winning check at a PGA tournament 30 years ago.Another one is that Sklansky guy that writes the well respected Poker bibles.The guy never does squat in the way of going anywhere in major tournaments.

I can just picture when you are 12 years old going to your guidance councilor in school and telling those nut case councilors who can't find a productive job your choice of possible vocations in adult life that you want to become an authority on football draft picks,race horses,giving poker advice,baseball predictions and giving golfers tips to make a huge income.At the school I came from it was either you were going to barely finish high school and work in a mine or construction trades or else you were going to college to get a degree to work in some useless job for the government.

[bigboydan]

hammering hank goldberg bets on football and the ponies brentcrude. i've seen him win a couple of plays and races before.

[pags11]

Mel Kiper definitely knows his shit...he does a lot to prepare...

[BuddyBear]

Mel Kiper probably knows more about some of these college players than their actual coaches do....guy is very sharp. Peter Gammons is a great guy too....even as a HOF he does not get the credit he deserves.

[slacker00]

Another one is that Sklansky guy that writes the well respected Poker bibles.The guy never does squat in the way of going anywhere in major tournaments.

I can answer this one.

Why are all these college professors that seemingly know so much shit teaching and making squat? I remember specifically when I graduated college and had a job lined up, my mousey professor asked me how much I'd be making. When I told him, he turned white as a sheet! It was really an emotionally scary moment in my life. This guy who more or less taught me everything I know about what I'd be doing and with decades of experience in the field would be making less than I would be. Albeit, I graduated college a decade ago, and maybe professors are more realistic about earning potential now days.

My point is that it takes a lot less to explain what to do, sometimes, than to actually do it. Look at NFL coaches. They can tell a guy how to block, or make a cut, but they sure as hell can't do it themselves. Most of them could never do it, although some coaches did indeed play in the NFL earlier in their lives.

It is an interesting observation how frail we are as humans, being so isolated from being proficient in certain aspects of our lives which are so critical. For example, I use the internet every day, and even have a degree in Software Engineering. But I'll be damned if I really really understand every aspect of everything it takes to take this message from my computer to yours.

[BuddyBear]

I can answer this one.

Why are all these college professors that seemingly know so much shit teaching and making squat?

depends on the instituation and area of research...some professors make 6 figures...most don't but a lot in the social sciences are known to do outside consulting. However, the direct answer to that question is that professor have the opportunity to get tenure which means lifetime job security. Most everyone would give up a little money if they could have job security for life!

[slacker00]

depends on the instituation and area of research...some professors make 6 figures...most don't but a lot in the social sciences are known to do outside consulting. However, the direct answer to that question is that professor have the opportunity to get tenure which means lifetime job security. Most everyone would give up a little money if they could have job security for life!

Then my situation was somewhat unique. I stand corrected.

I will soften my statement to say that "such a situation tends to exist".

The whole point of my argument is that even though Sklansky wrote the book on poker doesn't mean that he's currently the greatest poker player in the world. Look at Albert Einstein, whose ideas revolutionized physics. What has he done lately? He's a corpse. Dig him up and ask him. The fact that he's literally dead doesn't invalidate the ideas that he pioneered once upon a time.

For the record:

David Sklansky has 3 WSOP bracelets:
1983 Limit Omaha
1982 Draw High
1982 Mixed Doubles

[BuddyBear]

trust me....most professors just have average salaries anywhere between $35,000-$75,000. In terms of six figures, maybe some professors at good business schools, med school professors maybe, even engineering...but the vast majority are not making that kind of money.

The tradeoff is the tenure hands down. Let's say you are a professor making $50,000 and you have tenure....you are set for life. Never have to worry about anything, never have to publish, never have to go to a conference, never have to worry about what your peers think of you, never have to worry about when your boss wants to meet with you, no outsourcing of your job. There was a professor here where I am....he solicited oral sex online from an undercover cop posing as a 14 year boy and he still was not dismissed b/c of tenure....i think he may have eventually resigned or something. You basically have to murder someone to lose your tenure. To me job security is the most important thing out there.

[slacker00]

I hear ya, Buddy Bear.

I've actually got an aunt that's full tenured college prof. She's got it made. In fact, they offered her a blockbuster retirement package and she turned it down. I can only assume that what she does now days isn't even work. She shows up a couple hours a day, stands in front of class giving a scripted lecture she's given a million times, and kicks off for the rest of the day. Forget the fact her summers are off, winter break, spring break, etc, etc. Factor in the fact her husband is in the same department. They just get in the RV and hit the highway for weeks at a time, just burning cash.

My folks keep nagging me that I ought to take that career track. They forget the fact that it took my aunt 10 years, unpaid, to get her Ph.D. Then she had to work through the ranks of being less than tenured, where she had to make several moves early in her career. Forget the fact that they aren't exactly handing out Ph.D's to every bum that wants one. My aunt's got it easy right now, but she paid her dues to get to this point.

My sister just got her Ph.D. a couple years ago, but she's 30 years old and broke, and it isn't because she's stupid with money, much less stupid in general. She's just stuck on the treadmill of "someday". Someday she'll be tenured. Someday she'll be able to teach 2 hours a day, 6 months out of the year with a relatively nice salary, benefits, etc. But, someday is way off in the future. Meanwhile she's working for nothing.

[BuddyBear]

yeah getting an advanced degree like a ph.d. or a law degree or med degree is a huge deferrment of income but the general idea is that if you work hard now you can relax later on in life. The good thing about a ph.d program is that a lot of universities and departments offer fuding so you could get your education paid for in full and even teach or do research in the process. Graduate school sucks I can tell you that easily....i detest being in it and wish I had stopped with my master's but i am in too deep now and to top it off I don't even know if i want to teach. Whatever I guess...i'll worry about that later. However, it's not uncommon for students who complete a ph.d to finish flat broke or in some type of debt. Fortunately I am a really good sports gambler and can offset such things but most other students do not have such a gift as I do.

Even though I agree with the idea of tenure, I have some serious criticisms of the tenure process and it's effects but that's for another discussion.