Often when I see bright-eyed young students express interest in going to
grad school I don’t quite know what to tell them. Usually I just smile and nod,
while internally wondering if I’m
obligated to inform them of some of the harsh realities of modern academia.
When I was a grad student the academic life was presented as all sweetness and
light. I naively believed that upon receiving my doctorate someone would
automatically lead me to a brand new office where I could start my vocation of professoring. From the outside it certainly seems like a great gig—flexible hours,
a lifetime in pursuit of knowledge, helping to shape eager young minds. As
students contemplating this path, our vision is often clouded by the respect
and admiration we have for professors who have taught us well. But, like any
profession, there is a down side, even a dark side that needs to be considered.
Therefore, anyone considering embarking on the path to PhD should take some
time to think hard about the following issues.
Earning a PhD does not guarantee that you get
to work as a professor or researcher.
Earning a doctorate means that you’ve reached
the highest level of academic achievement that our civilization formally recognizes.
This in itself is a wonderful thing and is not easily acquired. Most people who
start PhD programs don’t finish. So, earning the degree is definitely something
to be proud of. Yet even though it establishes you as an expert in your chosen
field and may open doors to publishing in academic journals, it does not guarantee
you a job or stable income.
The reality is that fulltime tenure-track
positions in universities are increasingly hard to find. Only a small
percentage of PhDs actually land such posts, as universities (driven by
economic factors) increasingly rely on a large pool of sessional/adjunct/contract
professors with little job security and almost no prospects for advancement. Personally,
I’m convinced that many institutions want to phase out tenure entirely and that,
unless the current trend reverses itself, it won’t exist in 10-20 years.
Universities are also preoccupied with
prestige and publicity, which helps them raise more funds and justify their
existence. Therefore, they tend to hire people with degrees from elite
institutions or who are already part of an existing network. Although job
searches are meant to be egalitarian, in reality who gets hired often comes
down to where they went to school and who they know. So even if you are an amiable
person with great teaching and research potential, this often isn’t enough to
gain entry into the Faculty Club.
The temporal, financial, and emotional costs
can be enormous.
Earning a PhD is meant to be difficult, so
obviously there are a variety of costs involved. The first are temporal—it takes
a long time. After a 4-year undergraduate degree and often a 1 to 2-year MA, a
doctoral program can take between 4 and 8 years to complete (again, if
completed at all). Are you prepared to spend nearly a decade of your life pursuing
this credential? If you simply want to do some advanced research, perhaps doing
only a master’s degree is the way to go, and may serve you better in the long
run.
Moreover, it’s expensive! Without substantial
and stable funding, doing a PhD is too much of a financial gamble. It sounds
harsh, but unless you receive full funding, it’s just not worth it. Let’s
compare people training to be medical doctors and lawyers. They often
accumulate enormous debts to achieve their credentials, but they also have
enormous earning potential which helps them repay those debts. In addition,
doctors and lawyers have multiple career options open to them upon graduation. A
doctor can go to work at a hospital or other health care provider, or open a
private practice. Similarly, lawyers can join a firm or establish their own
office. PhDs, especially in the humanities and social sciences, often see
academia as the only option. Unfortunately, you can’t open your own little philosophy
or literature school and hope to make a living. There are of course options “outside
of academia”, but pursuing these requires a lot of planning and creative
thinking. Besides, people in grad programs are often conditioned into thinking
that anything less than a tenure-track position is failure. This is flawed
thinking, but it remains pervasive. So ask yourself: What sort of life do you
envision? Does it include relationships, mortgages, children? Often these
things have to be put on hold, sometimes indefinitely. Meanwhile, while you
struggle to complete your dissertation, your high school friends who went to
community college or vocational school might be on to their third child, second
house, and fourth car. Not to be glib, but if you simply love reading and
learning, it’s much less expensive to get a library card.
One must also consider the emotional costs.
The uncertainty and stress of grad school can be overwhelming, not only on the
student, but on their loved ones as well. Are you prepared to pay that price?
Is your partner prepared to follow you to the ends of the earth in pursuit of
your academic dream, even if it won’t be realized? As such, academia can put an
enormous strain on relationships and the isolation of grad school can sometimes
lead to acute anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental health issues. So,
you need to know what sort of support network you’ll have in place as you
pursue your degree.
Have a plan B and be prepared to walk away.
Having a backup plan is sound advice in any
area of life, but particularly for those working towards advanced degrees. If,
in spite of all the caveats expressed above, you still feel the burning need to
pursue a PhD, think carefully of how you might use the skills you achieve in
other ways—outside of academia—in the private or public sectors. As I said, this
involves some creative but necessary thinking. Bear in mind that many potential
employers will likely consider you overqualified or too specialized.
At the same time, even if you do end up in a
PhD program, you may find yourself deeply unhappy. Know that this is okay. We
all change our minds and alter course. We all make decisions we later regret. For
a variety of reasons beyond even those mentioned above, sometimes it just isn’t
worth continuing. Maybe you and your advisor aren’t the right fit after all.
Maybe you loose interest in the research topic. Maybe your priorities change.
Any number of things could happen or get in the way. So, be prepared to let it
go.
Ultimately, I think people entering grad
school should do so with their eyes wide open. They should know the benefits as
well as the costs involved. If you’re simply attracted to the idea of being a
professor, then it simply isn’t enough. But, if you persistently find yourself
driven by some burning question or desire to solve an important problem, then
perhaps it is the path for you. The “vocational” sense that many aspiring
academics feel is often ridiculed, but I don’t think this is justified. A life
of books and learning at almost any cost is attractive to some and we shouldn’t
necessarily be seduced by the neoliberal Siren song suggesting education’s sole
purpose is economic advancement. In the end, earning a PhD is an enormous and
admirable achievement in itself. Advancing knowledge is an inherent good. Just
be prepared for the reality of the day after graduation.
