[chuckleMuscle]

I would say that when I started my PhD (aged 22) I didn't think about career prospects in the way I do now. I'm not complaining about my situation -- I love my job.

I suppose my point is that people know what the job market is like in abstract from the beginning, appreciating the actuality of it is something which requires more maturity than is present in many (most?) PhD applicants.

[abhinav22]

Agreed. The world is much harsher now and jobs in most industries are not secure, I didn’t want to sound harsh in my post (and it wasn’t directed at you in any way since it was clear from your post that you had something), but the reality is young students need to think carefully about their job prospects at an earlier stage than they did before.