Why doing a phd

First published: 2024-01-27

Last Edited: 2021-03-25

Number of edits: 10

There's a fair question regarding what drives a person to do a PhD. Maximizing the earning potential could be a driven factor, but since it seems PhDs in some areas do not guarantee this, people can ask: Are PhD students irrational?

The article¹ debates around the notion that humanities PhDs were never expected to contribute to the economy, and therefore their job success was not a concern. However, STEM PhDs are incentivized from the state. If job prospects for STEM PhDs are not great, then they would be making an irrational choice.

The article has many references, and I think it is sad that they only discuss from the job market perspective, and not from the value generation perspective. There is a clear reason for governments to incite people to pursue STEM careers if one thinks about the value graduates can generate. See: Technology Transfer.

Tags: #career #education #higher-education #phd

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/phd-students-irrational/ ↩

Backlinks

These are the other notes that link to this one.

Incremental change leads to unsustainable educational paradigms

Comment

Share your thoughts on this note

Aquiles Carattino

This note you are reading is part of my digital garden. Follow the links to learn more, and remember that these notes evolve over time. After all, this website is not a blog.