[bryanlarsen]

I know several couples who had children in grad school. They had university jobs which did not pay very well, but had generous maternity and childcare benefits. They were in a grad program that pretty much guaranteed them a good job once they graduated. They were young and healthy. They stretched out their graduation, but nobody cares if you get your masters/phd in 3 years or 5.

Compare that to what seems to now be the normal pattern of waiting until you're financially secure before having children. It seems to work out OK for the guys, but seems far from optimal for many women. Children later in life is really hard on their bodies, and so many of them seem to blow a giant hole in their career that they never recover from.

There were down sides, of course. Most grad students are terribly poor. But they make it work.

I really think that's something we should lean into and encourage as a society.