It's concerning to see young scientists' job prospects being manipulated based on personal relationships rather than merit.
This form of tribalism goes against the principles of the academic system. If this behavior is deemed as "pragmatism," it's a sign of a larger issue within the academic community.
The academia is a small, petty world full of inflated egos and prone to political hysteria, with people eternally locked into zero sum games. When I moved to the private sector, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
There, people will "only" try to rip you off, but given that their reputation precedes them, you will orient yourself pretty quickly and stop cooperating with the nasties, unless they are as dominant as Google or Microsoft are. You cannot do this in rigid hierarchies of the academic world.
Lmao. Those being what, signing one's name under as many bullshit papers and articles as physically possible to get tenure and then doing the bare minimum till you retire while your students hate you?
Today's academia has no principles left, it's a rat race to the bottom.
Try getting into post-grad at prestigious institution with a recommendation from a nobody who teaches at a virtually unknown university. Your actual merit won't mean anything against the recommendation of a big name in the field; even if the student they are recommending has less merit