&gt;  the utter lack of &quot;genuine&quot; teamwork<p>I&#x27;ve also seen this, and it is explained by the essay I mentioned.<p>You _do_ get genuine teamwork in academia in the UK, essentially I&#x27;ve had to identify like-minded people who are principally here to do great work rather than further their own career. I&#x27;ve found lots of people like that, and have collaborated with them and found it a very pleasant experience.<p>I&#x27;ve also experience people as you describe, and I generally just stay away from them as much as possible. Life&#x27;s too short to associate with people like that, leave them to their agenda and get on with doing research.