Suseonline, Lexi et al,
I think you're confusing real scholars with average academics. It's grossly demeaning to put scholars in the same basket as the basket cases.

Individual, at the moment I drive a truck. It's easy work that doesn't require much thought to do and it allows me plenty of time to think and as a bonus I quite enjoy driving. It's not especially well paid but I've been there and done that and my needs are pretty small.

Perhaps you are a bit keen to pigeonhole?

I'm sorry to read about your industry. The rise of managerialism and its process obsession has been a curse.

Perhaps you are a bit keen to pigeonhole?
Antisceptic,
Well, when they come out of the same mould then they invariably also fit into the same pidgeonhole. What the defenders of incompetence & exploitation need to realise & then accept is the fact that the majority of Uni degree holders are not an asset to our society, they are a burden & an expensive one at that. They are the ones interfering in peoples' lives because they think they know everything better but they don't, we have the proof.
They are the ones looking down at those who are doing the actual work. They are in general nothing more than do-gooders with not an ounce of sense. These are the academics I have to deal with on a daily basis & I have had a gut full of them. Like that medical Superintendent who said me many years ago "How can you be stressed, you're only a worker". That mentality is even more prevalent nowadays as more & more degrees are available easier & easier. Just wait when the price of cornflakes goes down, every Tom, Dick & Harry will have a degree & the degree of stupidity will be unmeasurable.

Individual, I have a lengthy background in science and engineering and I've been in management as well as self-employment. People interacted with me in various ways, but always with the underlying assumption that I had certain qualities, even if they didn't know me. I'm now a truck driver and people interact with me on the basis of their assumption of a different set of qualities. I try hard not to disturb their set of assumptions, because people get uneasy when they can't work out where someone fits in.

In my previous roles I had to take responsibility for the actions of others and direct them to achieve various outcomes. I was under the tension formed by the expectations of those up the chain of command, whether boss or bank and the tensions of those below, which are often fundamentally opposed.

In this role, I have only to do a simple task. Sometimes there are time pressures or traffic is bad, but managing those is part of my task. My boss simply expects me to do it when he directs me to and so I have no tension in my role except what I create for myself or is a natural part of the job.

You may not realise just how much tension those "pointy-heads" are under and how well off you are by comparison. My feeling is that your tension is created by underresourcing to do the task required of you, which probably also applies to them, while they are under additional tension because of their place in the hierarchy. There are two ways to deal with that tension for you. Keep applying tension back up the chain and hope it leads to more resources in a bid to remove it, or just accept that its something that is part of your task to work around.

It does no good to worry about things you can't influence, it just makes you less able to deal with the things you can.

Onthebeach,
A good question, the answer to which is, there is no good reason. But then there is no good reason for most human activity. No reason for anything in fact. We're here along with all the rest of life obeying evolved urges to procreate and keep warm and safe. If you look for reason you'll lose it.

Antsceptic,
firstly I made a typo which should read immeasurable. secondly, yes I do realise that managers are under a lot of stress but I'm not talking about normal managers. I'm talking about bureaucrats paid by our tax dollar for nothing but incompetence & more costs in return.
Most of their stress is in pulling the wool over the eyes of their superiors & not in juggling public funding competently. If they did we wouldn't be in the pits as we are.
It is the culture of the public service to look after nr 1 first & last. Until we change the situation it'll only get worse.
I & my colleagues get into situations where whole communities rely on our ability to find a quick way out of a dilemma with only hours available. No parts at hand for several days etc.
Then there are the Uni degree bureaucrats who rather than make an on-the-spot decisions will "leave it to us" to sort it all out. Months later they pound their chests at some conference on what a great job they do & the ignorant public servants in the South swallow the crap hook, line & sinker. And, yes you can pidgeohole them with confidence.