Once the machinery was in motion however, the Roman infantry typically was deployed, as the main body, facing the enemy. During deployment in the Republican era, the maniples were commonly arranged in triplex acies (triple battle order): that is, in three ranks, with the hastati in the first rank (that nearest the enemy), the principes in the second rank, and the veteran triarii in the third and final rank as barrier troops, or sometimes even further back as a strategic reserve.
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Ah, so we learn the men called the “hastati” ran to the front lines. Who were these hastati?
[QUOTE=Wikipedia]
They were originally some of the poorest men in the legion, and could afford only modest equipment — light armour and a large shield, in their service as the lighter infantry of the legion. Later, the hastati contained the younger men rather than just the poorer, though most men of their age were relatively poor. Their usual position was the first battle line.
[/QUOTE]
So, in the Roman Legions, the poorer and younger men – not the men who’d “been in the game longer” – ran to the front lines.
OP, you go and look for a job that doesn’t match that description. If you find one, come back here and tell us what it is. Bonus points if it’s something that is not illegal.
Yes. There are too many people trying to go into science as it is, at least in physics and astronomy. It’s not easy to get a job as a professor in those fields.
Speaking as a biologist PhD student, I have to say first that the OP’s description is quite foreign to my experience, and second that I’m beginning to get phenomenally depressed when people start talking about the job market.
I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago and overheard the following paraphrased conversation between two researchers:
“He said, ‘it used to be that I was worried that my students wouldn’t be able to find an academic job and would have to go into industry. Now he’s worried that they’ll be able to find any job at all.’”
“I used to be worried about my students being able to find a job. Now I’m worried about keeping my own.”
For this I’m going through how many years of poverty?
I’ll tell you a dirty little secret. Your job prospects after graduation are not a function of how hard you worked or how much you sacrificed in school. You can’t work your ass off in college or grad school to get a guarantee of a good job after graduation. You will meet people who took school a lot less seriously than you did, who are making as much money and have as good working conditions as you do. It’s not fair, and it is not good, but as far as I can tell, it seems to be true.
It took me until well into my thirties to figure this out.
[Quote=Freddy the Pig]
On the scale of “professions I never thought of as being alike”, “scientist” and “Roman soldier” are right up there with “actuary” and “gigolo”.
[/Quote]
Nonsense. They both are concerned with figures.
[/Quote]
Wait. I’m concerned with figures whenever I’m trying to get a paper ready for publication. Does this mean that the only logical conclusion is that Roman soldiers are like gigolos, or have I been doing science wrong all these years?