The True Cost of a PhD: Giving Up a Family for Academia
“colleges and universities must find a way to allow those pursuing academic careers to obtain the basic goods that most people seek in life: marriage, a family, and a career to support themselves. The price of pursuing a life of the mind shouldn’t be the rest of one’s life.”<p>Wait, why is this the universities problem? If too many people want to get phds than our society can support, then less people should get phds. That or they’ll get stuck in the current academic grind.<p>Any PhD student should be well aware of the career difficulty that follows, particularly if they want to be a professor. There’s no lack of articles like this one pointing out that fact.<p>I got my PhD but went in well aware that I don’t want to go thru the ringer trying to be a professor. I’d love to be one, but not willing to sacrifice so much to be one.<p>So I choose to do industry from the start. The PhD wasn’t the most financially advantageous move but I loved it for the 6 years I was there and wouldn’t trade it for the “sunk cost”.