Graduate School?! Don’t Do It!
Update. Er – the link now goes to the right place. So much better that way.
This is a fascinating blog discussion – it takes off from a commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, about the angst of deciding whether or not to go to graduate school. There are (as of this writing) 104 comments, including several from Jane Galt, who wrote the Chronicle piece. The discussion started on December 4, and it’s still going on. It’s surprising (at least to me) how strongly the tide is running in the direction of ‘don’t go.’ Well I don’t know why it surprises me, come to think of it, since it’s not something I ever wanted to do. But it does – I suppose because I assumed that even though I didn’t want to, other people did, and went on wanting to and were happy they had. But apparently people like that are the exception.
I was especially struck by this remark (among a lot of others I was especially struck by) at number 40:
I’m a first-term graduate student in English, and I’m seriously reconsidering my decision to go for the doctorate. The probable length of time it’ll take to get the degree…and the overwhelming competition are all convincing me to rethink my choices. The fact that English departments are rapidly becoming cultural criticism departments isn’t really helping either–I know it’s pathetically naive to say so, but I came for the literature, not ivory-tower political “activism.”
Hm. Why’s it pathetically naive? It’s not, of course, it’s only the people who’ve turned English departments into ‘cultural criticism’ departments who think so and have managed to intimidate other people into thinking so. But it’s just as I’ve been saying for years, the theory types are not just boring themselves and their students into fits, they’re also turning people away from the field.
The link to the “blog discussion” goes to a Guardian article on MMR. Is that a mistake? I’d like to read the discussion but don’t know where to go. Thanks
Yes it is a mistake! So sorry. That’s twice I’ve messed up a link this week – very naughty. So many links to keep track of.
Corrected now.
My daughter is debating herself on the subject of grad school. She graduated from Cal Berkeley in psychology with a BS. She thought she was going to go for a phD but while interning after graduation rediscovered how much she does not enjoy research. She’s now considering other options and I’d like to send her to this discussion but the links seem to be messed up again.
They do; sorry. This time that’s probably because they’re so old.
If you’re thinking of going to grad school in the sciences you owe it to yourself, your future mate, and any future family to read at least these two articles.
1. Rhon, Jennifer (2011) Give Postdocs a Career, Not Empty Promises. Nature 471, 7.
2. Benderly, Beryl L. (July/Aug 2010) The Real Science Gap. It’s not insufficient schooling or a shortage of scientists. It’s a lack of career opportunities. Miller-McCune 3, 4.
Here they are. If you are dead set on doing research, I sure understand. Bite the expense of Kaplan, take the MCAT and get a MD/PhD degree. That way, you will find the license to practice medicine a most useful thing to keep in your back pocket!