NYT Article: Doctoral Candidates Anticipate Hard Times

[waitingtoexhale]

Oh boy, here's a grim forecast for doctoral students, especially in the humanities: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/arts/07grad.html?em

Andrew Delbanco, the chairman of the American studies program at Columbia University, said that the system producing graduate students was increasingly out of sync with the system hiring them.

[Dreams]

9 years for a dissertation in English? That's about a third of a career! I agree the market is oversaturated and who knows how it will be in the future. People should carefully consider the opportunity costs of getting a degree in a particular field. It might turn out that a PhD is not the best route.

[kahlan_amnell]

9 years for a dissertation in English? That's about a third of a career! I agree the market is oversaturated and who knows how it will be in the future. People should carefully consider the opportunity costs of getting a degree in a particular field. It might turn out that a PhD is not the best route.

I think the average in History is something like 8 years. I thought that must be thrown off by people who took a huge number of year to finish, but then when I started my MA program I met Ph.D. students who seemed like they were taking 8 years or more to finish. Some took their quals several years ago and are still writing their dissertations. I guess for some dissertations it really does take that long, but I can't imagine spending more than 1-2 years on a dissertation myself, as I study American History and wouldn't have to travel halfway around the world to archives or do much translating.

[jasper.milvain]

It might turn out that a PhD is not the best route.

The funny thing is that everybody knows this, but everybody thinks it only applies to *other* people.

[Yellow#5]

The funny thing is that everybody knows this, but everybody thinks it only applies to *other* people.

I think everybody knows it and doesn't care. They figure they'll carry on as long as they can, and just take a shitty job they hate in 9 years instead of right now.

Frankly, I've seen a big change in the humanities since I decided not to go straight to grad school in 1999 and went to law school instead. Scholarship was very negative. The wholy deconstruction thing set out to make every word coming from the humanites seem useless and a big inside joke. There was a serious inferiority complex with the sciences and literature departments seemed to want to expunge everything that was great about the discipline from the discipline.

I find there is much more useful thinking going on these days and over the past 2-3 years I've been drawn back in. I think that the continuation of the humanites requires that each faculty play some role in their immeadiate community and engage the general public somehow instead of deriding and excluding them. I don't mean "teaching" either, since, as the article and some posters point out, frequent activities takes away from research. I simply mean the presenting research should be more public. I know several older semi-retired literature enthusiasts who have tried to go to conferences and take part as simply a lover of literature, and have found scholars unwelcoming and snotty. This is why the humanities are perishing. Artists know enough to cultivate and engage their wealthy enthusiasts and literature and theory scholars go out of their way to keep "layman" or wealthy connoiseurs out of their circle, even out of the audience.

[illinoisellie]

I'm surprised this article didn't go into the fact that doctoral students right now - they people who actually do get in - will have to take out more loans and will have to increase the percentage of their diet that includes Ramen noodles and PB&J...

But don't worry - U-Haul sells some big cardboard boxes for pretty cheap - just need to laminate it, and then - Instant apartment!! :wink:

[ewurgler]

The funny thing is that everybody knows this, but everybody thinks it only applies to *other* people.

Yep. But hey, at least people want to be educated, contributing members of society. Plus, maybe the over-saturation of PhDs will trickle down and all high school teachers will have at least a masters in 50 years. That would be cool.

[guenevere01]

Personally, I'm holding on to the hope that in 6 or 7 years when I'm finishing my PhD, the economy will be back on a nice upswing and America will be in the throes of a humanistic renaissance that includes a renewed enthusiasm for education. Hope springs eternal! (Or at least for the next few years!)

[HelloFeminists]

Personally, I'm holding on to the hope that in 6 or 7 years when I'm finishing my PhD, the economy will be back on a nice upswing and America will be in the throes of a humanistic renaissance that includes a renewed enthusiasm for education. Hope springs eternal! (Or at least for the next few years!)

I agree. We'll see... besides, I've been fortunate enough to secure a fellowship, which is a refreshing change from my undergraduate career that has me at $50,000 in loans now. So I'll take it as it comes. Besides, this is what I want to do. And I've heard that gender studies programs are expanding at various places.