tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post5842407067885808176..comments2024-03-12T03:41:35.856-04:00Comments on From Grad School to Happiness: So Many Ph.Ds...So Few JobsJChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04468758055878600762noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-3279770410239718362013-06-05T21:25:53.690-04:002013-06-05T21:25:53.690-04:00I wonder how this compares to new bachelor level g...I wonder how this compares to new bachelor level graduates?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-50155153721612284152013-05-11T17:01:41.580-04:002013-05-11T17:01:41.580-04:00With the current economic conditions and debt leve...With the current economic conditions and debt levels in many countries, I would wonder if publicly funded universities and other institutions can even sustain the academic positions they already have. In the near future I think it is highly likely that some universities or parts thereof will become financially untenable as costs and tuition continue to rise and fewer students can afford to attend (certainly not if there is no promise of a well-paying job at the end). As well, research funding from various sources (especially governments) is unlikely to be able to sustain the careers of many (if any) newcomers for long unless their work has a direct economic spin-off and is supported by industry or private organisations with deep pockets. Many doctoral recipients will end up holding positions well below their ideal job for much longer than they would ever like to imagine.<br /><br />Generally speaking, I believe the era when everyone was encouraged to attend university and study whatever was of interest to them regardless of outcome is coming to a rapid and catastrophic conclusion. <br /><br />It is obvious that far too many dead-end doctorates are being awarded these days, particularly in areas of expertise where job growth is stagnant if not negative. A lot of these doctoral students should never have been there in the first place. Many of the established practitioners/faculty in these fields have been shielded from the truth (by the strong post-World War 2 economy) that their area of intellectual endeavour is not vital to the welfare of the economy or nation as a whole, and therefore is expendable when times get tough. Too many continually give false advice and encouragement to their students about their academic futures that is at best naive and at worst, highly self-serving.<br /> <br />Unfortunately for most, future Ph.D.s in many fields will have to be nothing less than stellar in their academic performance to get anywhere at all in terms of landing and keeping a real job.<br /><br />The sad truth is that most people pursing a Ph.D. today are doing themselves a great disservice. Even a Masters in not advisable right now unless it is directly applicable to a job for which there is a high demand. Whether universities and their faculty like to admit it or not, the good old days are long gone and are unlikely to return anytime soon no matter what any survey suggests.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-4403499754239588492013-04-01T21:57:53.097-04:002013-04-01T21:57:53.097-04:00Anonymous (above), You are very fortunate that you...Anonymous (above), You are very fortunate that your parents have paid for college for you. Most people must work and take out loans. With a college education you will, of the course of a lifetime, make apx. one million dollars more in income than people who only have a high school education. That is not something to be so down on. <br /><br />Of course, presumably, you are now a more intelligent person. Is that something to put a price tag on? If college was totally free because your parents paid the tuition for you then it was certainly the right decision. Grad. school will help with certain careers depending on what you decide to do. Your friend in the Marines, on the other hand, very likely would have returned without legs (His criminal record might be a blessing in desguise). <br /><br />You may feel like a failure, and may in fact be a failure, but that is not the fault of college and your professors (who did not tell you what you should do with your life?). Success or failure is entirely on you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-60940675011002176462013-02-15T22:15:45.992-05:002013-02-15T22:15:45.992-05:00I am glad that you are writing this and I wished p...I am glad that you are writing this and I wished people would actually do their research before committing to grad school. I am undergrad and yet when I look at those around me (although I love my dept and professors) I know that a good majority of my classmates will end up at in the service industry if they are lucky and don't make the mistake of continuing on with the "life of the mind" gig. And that is sad. <br /><br />These kids don't get it and they are already thousands in debt. I am not because my parents pay (and no, I am not rich or middle-class). Paying the few hundred every year is hard and a burden for my parents. If I didn't have aid, I don't know what I would do. But, back to my point, it seems easy for 18-20 yr olds to take out loans without any thought that they will be fucked later on, especially if you continue on in the social sciences and want to be an academic. Again, I see my classmates that can barely write good enough papers, even after the professors proofreads them, and they hate to read theory. Hello! Theoy is basically the bread and butter in the academy! They lack true critical thinking skills and yet they want to go to graduate school!<br /><br />Sighs.<br /><br />As for me, I was stupid. I was taken in by the subject and actually believed that I would do something with it. My friends tried to take me out of it, but I was stubborn until I realized that besides my writing skills (good, but not great), love of theory and critical thinking skills (that high school helped developed), I had no practical skills what so ever. No real job besides service would ever hire me with these skills. I now have am a double major and trying get the chance to do two interships. And yet, I feel like a failure. I wasted my time and am keeping my parents back from leaving a job they hate, just that I can graduate. My parents that make $13/hr and work 7hrs a week are struggling and I feel so guilty about it. However, at least I realized my mistake now and am trying to fix. Imagine, had I still been naive and on my way to the PH.D!<br /><br />As for my classmates, I know they will continue and I blame my wonderful professors (or are they?) for not trying to warn and try to open their eyes. I even tried to tell my friend about what I learned and although she is unsure, looked at a website (guess what, a graduate school!)where it was clearly stated that funding was not always there and that there was a chance she would living from term to term and yet, she was still considering it! Even after, I told her to never go to a graduate school without funding because it was a polite rejection. If you aren't goog enough for funding, you are not good enough for a job!<br /><br />Again, thanks for writing this! You have made a difference and helped informed undergrads (or at least me) that are taken it by the lie that is academic life. <br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-92179410100754759952012-12-08T15:14:06.345-05:002012-12-08T15:14:06.345-05:00I'm glad you shared this. I'm about to fin...I'm glad you shared this. I'm about to finish my first semester of graduate school, but I'm just seeking a masters degree. Fortunately, at my university the terminal degree for my program is the Masters. There is a lot of pressure for me to go on and get a Ph.D, but not nearly as much if they actually offered it in my school.<br /><br />I think the masters will be useful for what I want to do, and after a few professors recommended getting a Ph.D, I started looking into it. Yet from lurking on your blog, I've been slowly swayed away from that.<br /><br />I have to admit, it really is a shame that graduate students are so miserable. Because honestly, I've not met a single grad student who says it's great, and they enjoy what they are doing the majority of the time. We push through it convinced we're going to have more economic and professional opportunities waiting for us...but are we really? It's not looking like it. Academia is not all it's cracked up to be.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-14235622954768993182012-12-07T16:34:56.522-05:002012-12-07T16:34:56.522-05:00JC and Lauren (and all other post-ac bloggers), ev...JC and Lauren (and all other post-ac bloggers), even though you can't see it, the mere fact that you DO blog and have graciously and openly shared your experiences is an INCREDIBLE help to all of us. Just knowing that someone else out there has taken a different route, ventured out from behind ivy walls, and landed safely in the stream of the common working world is enough to motivate. Long after you've stopped blogging about this, others will find what you have written and take comfort in your words. <br /><br />I say this because you and the other bloggers have helped me so very much. I have taken all of the wonderful blog posts and put them together, "teaching" myself that it's OK to leave academia and life out there really has a lot to offer. Believe me, you're doing more good than you know. <br /><br />Thanks to ALL post-ac bloggers for sharing your knowledge and experience. We appreciate you. The 2 Year Life of the Mindnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-36595761249545433532012-12-07T14:08:06.075-05:002012-12-07T14:08:06.075-05:00I am so grateful for this blog and it has kept me ...I am so grateful for this blog and it has kept me sane this semester. I am a second year Ph.D student in social science (one of psychology subfields) and I am starting to feel really really unhappy and miserable. I am really sorry if I am venting, but I really wanted to talk to people who come to this blog. I am an international student who has been here for a couple of years, doing both clinical work and research, and I find myself a bit disgusted by whole academic people. Grad students are venting all the time, complaining about life, competing who is more busy..etc and I really feel uncomfortable around them. I am not saying it's easy for me, but just the environment that I am in, I don't feel it's intellectually stimulating nor emotionally supportive. I feel really lost and have been so disappointed with folks in the program. I believe I am not a bad person, but It has been so difficult to even "fake smile" in school. I feel I should be more political and present "nice", but it's just hard not to be transparent for me.<br /><br />Anyhow, I know it's not appropriate to vent here on comment box, but if anyone cares to comment on my situation, please feel free. <br /><br />I appreciate your time and I hope you are all well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-77084068061845721592012-12-07T14:05:21.642-05:002012-12-07T14:05:21.642-05:00God, I don't know ... but it's something I...God, I don't know ... but it's something I've thought about quite a bit. I honestly don't have any idea how we could possibly reach out to people any more than we are already doing. I'd be open to any and all suggestions and would be happy to get involved, though.<br /><br />(And yeah ... even 18 months into blogging, I'm still pretty surprised by the amount of new traffic that the blog gets, and the search terms that bring people here. There's obviously a ready-made audience out there that is looking for some advice (or at least reassurance). It's depressing that they're not getting anything without a desperate late-night Google search.)JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04468758055878600762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3282788798018689873.post-55620475651180142552012-12-07T13:22:56.596-05:002012-12-07T13:22:56.596-05:00I feel like we (post-acers/bloggers) need to be do...I feel like we (post-acers/bloggers) need to be doing more to help people floundering in this world. It seems like the academy is slow as molasses to respond and change, and I don't know about you but our stats are through the roof with googlers about quitting grad school (I guess finals does that to you). What aren't we doing that we could be doing? Laurenhttp://www.mamanervosa.comnoreply@blogger.com