[liedra]

It's a bit close to home since I did a PhD in a "useless" area (philosophy) but my area of philosophy happens to be very popular at the moment in industry as well as university so it's more likely that I'd get a job (I do technology ethics). However, I have a friend who did a PhD in gender studies and is having a bit of trouble finding a permanent position (she tutors at university level). Mind you, unlike me, she wasn't willing to travel to where the jobs might be - you definitely have to keep this in mind when you decide whether to pursue your degree! For me it was a no-brainer, there's only one really big centre in AU that does what I do, and in academia it's usually good to get a postdoc from a different university, so I moved to Europe.

I think in academia you have to be willing to travel. I'm starting to realise what a pain in the arse that is though! :) It's nice to feel "settled" in a place, and I suspect I won't get that feeling for a while yet (until I'm in a long-term position anyway).

I think that the big problem is that kids who go into university do what they enjoy doing (which isn't wrong, they should absolutely be encouraged to do what they enjoy doing!) but when they realise they can't be at university for the rest of their lives, unless they're willing to fight for academic positions, find themselves up shit creek, so to speak. I honestly don't think they realise that they're going to have trouble getting a job until they're well into the degree, and by then it's far too late.

I personally think it sucks that people should be discouraged from doing the "less useful" degrees just because there are a buttload of fees that get dumped on them that they need to repay later and they may not get a job that will cover that. Noone is EVER going to make a billion dollars working in gender studies or religious studies, but it's important to have those who do it (for the love!) for research and teaching purposes. But then you have a problem -- how are those people, who are highly educated but not ever going to make $$$, and yet are going to teach the next generation of students, going to pay back the debts they amass? Yeah, I don't like the American system very much :)

[robryan]

It's true that there needs to be people in these areas and I don't think people should be discouraged from obtaining these degrees if they are really passionate about them. It's just they need to sit down before they start and assess if they are realistically going to be able to pay for what they are signing up for in the long run.

The system may well suck but it's no good signing up for it all then crying fowl about the system at the end of the process.

[liedra]

Yeah, I agree that this woman made some pretty stupid decisions, I mean I wouldn't exactly get a home loan to buy a house unless I knew I would be able to pay it off! The difference though is that you probably wouldn't enter into a home loan situation unless you already had a job -- going to university is supposed to be the groundwork to get you a job. There's a much higher uncertainty there, so much bigger risk. But I mean I always think it's a good idea to have a backup plan -- I did a major in computer science too, and worked in industry as a programmer, and though I'm pretty poor (out of practice) at it and don't particularly enjoy it, I can always do it if I "get stuck". :)