Even Ph.D.s Who Got “Full Funding” Have Huge Amounts of Debt

Even Ph.D.s Who Got “Full Funding” Have Huge Amounts of Debt(slate.com)

9 points by squirejons 12 years ago | 7 comments

doctorwho 12 years 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.

nightcracker 12 years 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.

beagle3 12 years 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".

akfanta 12 years ago | |

This may shock you, but some don't live/work/study just for money.

doctorwho 12 years 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.

ahomescu1 12 years ago |

Looking at the Excel chart, it seems like most people in debt got that from undergrad, not grad school. The data doesn't seem to support their conclusion (that people rack up debt in grad school).

doctorwho 12 years ago | |

So they went into debt for a Yugo instead of a BMW. It's the same problem. People aren't able to separate wants from needs and do the basic math that would tell them they'll end up with a crushing debt after a 4 year degree program that will (in most cases) provide them with no advantage at all in the workforce because of the glut of other "educated" applicants.

Desire and aptitude don't always go hand-in-hand. The people who always do well (you know the ones) will get the jobs and everyone else will whine about not being able to find a job that pays $100K right out of school. If you're going to end up flipping burgers anyway, why not save 100K and just go directly to the golden arches?