Originally Posted by deacongirl
In this case she might agree about unpaid servitude. But I think we can all recognize that people's goals change over time. I know many people who are not using their degrees in the way they initially set out to. That doesn't mean they are wasted.
I did learn things during my PhD program but estimate that I got maybe two years worth of benefit, not the six that I spent. Goals and values do change over time. I cared more about money at 30 than 20. But my point is that comparing the number of desirable academic positions that open up annually with the number of PhDs awarded annually, and considering that many people earning PhDs do aspire to such positions, the numbers just don't add up.

If my children talk about going to grad school once they are in college, I will have them read essays such as

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/..._ph_d_will_make_you_into_a_horrible.html
Thesis Hatement
Getting a literature Ph.D. will turn you into an emotional trainwreck, not a professor.
By Rebecca Schuman
Slate
Posted Friday, April 5, 2013, at 7:10 AM

so they can't say they have not been warned.