"The Ph.D. in the Humanities or Social Sciences is an extremely bad financial decision for many people at this point in time..."

[Canis]

A lot of people across disciplines are posting about their admissions decisions. They're panicking when they don't get admissions, they're thrilled when they do, even without funding. But there's something people aren't talking about and should be. Is it even a good idea to pursue a PhD?

 

Obviously we all want to, which is why we've applied. But Karen Kelsky has a great reminder in her interview on the Anthropology blog Savage Minds today. Especially about funding and only going to an 'elite' school - not becuase you're a snob, but because that's the only degree that is going to get you a job when you come out!

 

"This is the advice that I keep in a file as a boilerplate response to all of those who write asking me whether they should do a Ph.D. in the humanities of social sciences:

 

I generally advise caution about applying to phd programs. Make sure you are fully funded, and that the so-called ‘full funding package’ is actually adequate for your real-life living expenses in the location of the program.  Go only to an elite or high ranking program, and take on absolutely no debt to do the entire program start to finish.  If all those are possible and you are under 40, then it’s not a bad choice.  While there, firmly strategize for the job market from your first year, by reading my column, Graduate School Is a Means to a Job, and doing what it says.

 

I elaborate on this in my blog post, “Should You Go To Graduate School?”

 

The Ph.D. in the Humanities or Social Sciences is an extremely bad financial decision for many people at this point in time, certainly for those without a working spouse or family wealth. The reason is not simply the inadequacy of most full funding packages, which have not even remotely kept place with rising costs of living, but that the years in the program are — or should be — a person’s prime earning years when they could otherwise be earning a full-time income,  paying into social security, perhaps accruing the funds to buy a first house, and otherwise laying the financial foundation for later years.  All of those things are out of the question for most Ph.D.s in the humanities and social sciences (as opposed to Engineering, the hard sciences, etc.).  So the financial repercussions of the decision do not stop at the years of “grad student lifestyle” [ramen noodles, etc.] in the program, which may seem like a reasonable and even appealing sacrifice when you’re in your twenties. Rather they extend outward into a person’s thirties or forties and beyond, when the stakes become urgent of having massive debt, no job, no security, and no financial cushion."

 

She wisely reminds us to ONLY accept if we have a full, and generous funding package. This is the advice I've gotten from all my professors and from PhD students as well - but it's easy to ignore when you're trying so hard to gain admission and you just want to go 'somewhere' - 'anywhere.'

 

The truth is though, if you don't get complete and full funding (more than the usual funding package which doesn't usually cover everything) - then you're signing up for a lifetime of struggle. You're much better off waiting, applying again next year and only going when you get funding that will actually get you through debt-free.

 

[astaroth27]

Thank you for that. Not enough people are asking themselves this question.

[juilletmercredi]

Of course we're talking about this; there are many threads on this issue, several of them discussions about recently published articles like this one.  And this advice is given out constantly in the Decisions, Decisions thread.  It's not new.

Absolutist language is also not really helpful...I did take out a small amount of debt in my program, mostly to cover relocation costs.  The debt is such that even if I dropped out of my PhD program today and got a job with my MA, I would still be able to cover the payments.

I also disagree that it's an "extremely bad financial decision".  My funding was about $32,000 per year.  With my BA in psychology, I probaby could've expected to make about that.  During years 4 and 5 of my program, with additional income plus my fellowship I was averaging $45,000.  That's a full-time income, and again, I probably would've have made much more with my BA in psychology.  I wasn't paying into SS/saving for retirement, but I have a postdoc lined up for next year so I will soon, and assuming I get gainfully employed after that I will continue to.

Yes, you start saving a little later, and yes, you may have less money saved for retirement or less money in the bank than if you started saving at 22.  But that doesn't mean that it's an "extremely bad financial decision" as long as you are able to live comfortably after you finish.  Also, not everyone wants to own a house, or even needs to.

But the caveat is that these things are only true if you have full funding that's large enough to cover your living expenses in the program, as well as tuition, fees, and health insurance. Otherwise my advice is always don't go.

[Canis]

Well, she is writing broadly about graduate school, but if you read the interview, the quote, the links - she's primarily talking about Social Sciences and Humanities. STEM PhDs are often (though not always) a completely different world. There is nothing like the possible STEM funding for the Social Sciences and Humanitites. Even the absolute top funding Anthro program gives 1/2 the stipend of the average fully funded STEM package.

 

"these things are only true if you have full funding that's large enough to cover your living expenses in the program, as well as tuition, fees, and health insurance."

 

Absolutely - that's the kicker, there are very few programs (almost none actually) in Social Sciences and Humanities where that is the case.

 

And on the question of whether people are talking about it - yes, you're talking about it, and PhD students are talking about it, but the people who are posting in admissions forums this season and are currently deciding on programs aren't. It's not new advice - but the job market is changing rapidly for Soc Sci and Humanitites, and in the last few years it's been on a downward spiral - the discussions have reached a critical mass for this reason.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Canis