This is going to be an unpopular thread for academic twitter. I'll start by saying that no system is perfect, and the same is true of academia. Furthermore, I am sure that there are quite a few people who have been harmed by the system. But this is true of all systems. 1/n

I continue seeing threads from academics about how bad everything is - rejection of papers, rejection of grants, incremental work, horrible people, and so on. Sure, academia isn't for everyone, but let's be honest about the system and the situation. 2/n

First, not all rejections are unjustified; on the contrary, the majority probably are. Does anyone think that the authors are more objective than the reviewers? Of course, even if just 10% are unjustified (and it's probably higher), that's a lot of unjustified rejections. 3/n

Fine; there's a solution. Improve your paper and resubmit. Yes, there's noise in the system. So what? And why do I say "so what"? Because academics don't have any exclusivity around rejection. Rejection is a part of our world, and in most places in a much more serious way. 4/n

Try to build a startup - you'll be rejected over and over again by VCs. Try to build a product to sell (any company) - you'll be rejected over and over again by customers. Look for a job - you'll be rejected over and over again by HR, interviewers, and more. 5/n

Apply for a promotion or a wage increase - you'll be rejected many times throughout your career. Let's now talk about "horrible people". Yes, as an academic you get mean reviews. Work in industry and see how often you have to interact with mean colleagues, mean bosses, etc. 6/n

Administrators in universities are horrible (yes, I agree). Do you think that similar problems don't arise in industry? Bureaucracy is prevalent in many work places. Rigid, inflexible people with illogical rules are everywhere (sometimes there's logic but you don't know it). 7/n

I recently saw someone on Twitter claim that academia is so broken you need to do research elsewhere. What???? Do you know what it means to do research in industry? In many places, you have to prove that it can be applied in the very near future. Is that freer? 8/n

Bottom line,academics have to just get over it. Academia is a great job, albeit with its own difficulties and stress. However, you can choose what to research and work on. You can often choose what to teach. You can certainly choose who to work with (impossible elsewhere). 9/n

Academia provides the greatest freedom. You can choose to work normal hours and have a good work/life balance. If you are upset about mean reviewers, don't be one, and change by example. If you get rejected, get over it. Nothing terrible happened. It's part of the system. 10/n

Yes, it's hard when students have papers rejected. Let's teach them that it's fine. It's the same as not getting a job that you applied for. Why do we think that a paper being rejected is more insulting? It's far less insulting actually. 11/n

What about all that boring administration that academics shouldn't have to do? Get over it as well. Accept that half a day of every week is doing admin, by definition of your job. Manage your expectations. 12/n

Again, it's not perfect, and far from it. But nowhere is. Academia is a great job for many, providing far more freedom than elsewhere and continuous intellectual challenges and satisfaction. Appreciate what you have, manage your expectations, and be happy. 13/13