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by doctorwho 4531 days ago
Why are people still pursuing degrees which they will likely NEVER be able to use? This is not a problem that universities need to fix, but it is ultimately a self-correcting problem. If people can't get paid for studying X for 7+ years then post-grad X programs will dry up and disappear. As they should. If you're planning to go into one of these dead-end academic fields you should be required to take a full year course in Economics first.
2 comments
nightcracker 4531 days ago
Because getting a Ph.D. is more than getting a degree. You're actively doing research, and contribute to the world. Some people value this higher than simply getting a degree.
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beagle3 4530 days ago
For some people, buying a BMW is more than procuring a means of transportation, and they value it much higher than just buying a car. But I have never seen anyone come to defend those of them who got into unsustainable debt because of that (of which there are many, but not really a big part of the BMW owners in general).

Some Ph.Ds are actively doing research, very few of them are contributing to the world. Most Ph.Ds do not.(Many tenured professors with long publication lists do not either, for that matter).

I'm not against doing a Ph.D - far from it. But it's important to face reality - most academic work (Ph.D included) does not actually advance humanity, not even small sections of it. Only a very small part of academic research does.

The same goes for art. Some artists inspire millions. Most people who do art do not - many do it because they enjoy it, even if they suck horribly at it (and are often willfully ignorant of how bad they suck at it). Most people would consider it foolish for someone to go into huge debt to practice art, especially if there's no indication it would be able to support them. Yet, somehow, even though academic studies are roughly equivalent in that sense, they enjoy some halo of "nonfoolishness".

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akfanta 4531 days ago
This may shock you, but some don't live/work/study just for money.
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doctorwho 4531 days ago
I understand completely, but if learning is your motivation and you take on crushing debt to make it happen, you have no right to whine about it.

Would you be as sympathetic to someone who ran up thousands of dollars on their line of credit to buy luxury items? Nope. In fact we outright call these people idiots (without any shame) for spending more than they earn.

An advanced degree is a luxury item. It's a WANT and if you can't afford it then maybe you shouldn't have it.

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