“universities need to stop selling phd students false hope when there are no jobs out there for then” have you considered that someone might want to do a phd for reasons that aren’t just their employability
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this is such a narrow view on human life + nature. why does everything have to be about career? if phds only cared about the academic job at the end of it, they wouldnt be doing (certainly not surviving) a phd
like yes of course govts need to fund universities more+better, of course i wish there were more jobs. but nobody actually makes the decision to do a phd ignorant of the job market. everybody knows it’s bad
most people hope they will be an exception, sure, but we aren’t unaware of the reality
like yeah no one should a phd self-funded (unless they’re independently wealthy, in which case, who cares? let them give their money away) but if you do have funding then how could it possibly be a bad thing to get out of the rat race for a few years + learn
even if there WERE tons of academic jobs, govts should still fund more phd places than there are jobs for them to fill. plenty of phds actually want to go on to careers outside of academia. and a phd builds skills that you’re never gonna get in corporate or even the public sector
we aren’t being sold a lie we’re just making a choice to opt out of commercial working environments for a few years and possibly contribute to some social good. is it really so hard to understand that someone might wish to do that
I love this thread! It’s the advice I give too. Do it if you want to learn and think and spend time in an environment that welcomes those things. Don’t do it if your one single goal is one specific job. But damn - enjoy and enrich yourself in the moment if and when you can
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most people hope they will be an exception, sure, but we aren’t unaware of the reality