A PhD should be about improving society, not chasing academic kudos
When you look at the stats, it’s hard not to conclude that the current PhD system is fundamentally broken. Mental health issues are rife: approximately one-third of PhD students are at risk of having or developing a psychiatric disorder like depression. The high level of dropouts is similarly worrying – and possibly another symptom of the same problem. Research suggests that on average 50% of PhD students leave graduate school without finishing – with numbers higher at some institutions.The biggest risk factor I've found for a PhD student is lack of research experience during the undergrad degree.I've seen it over and over.A newly-minted bachelor's student without research experience has no preparation for the frustration, isolation, and sense of futility that real researchers face.When it hits them, many discover they lack the temperament to actually move a research project forward. By then, they will have sunk 2-3 years of their life (or more) and a major amount of prestige into a failed attempt.If you're an undergraduate and harbor the slightest ambition to get a PhD, drop what you're doing right now and start looking for a research group to join. You're going to need 2-3 years of experience actually doing research to know if it's something you'll enjoy long term.You may well discover that you don't like what you find. If so, better to know that now than when you're in your late 20s.If things do work out, you'll have a better idea of what to look for in advisors and schools.