After 5 years of being in a Ph.D. program, I cannot, in good conscience recommend that anyone go to graduate school. I've known this for the past year, but I didn't really know it. When my students ask for advice about grad school, I'm vague and generic. I don't outright dissuade them, but I'm no grad school cheerleader, at least not for a Ph.D. program.
I hadn't fully realized or admitted all of this until yesterday. I went to a birthday party and met a guy halfway through his undergraduate career. I asked him what he studied, and then he said he was thinking about graduate school. He's barely spitting out the words, but I'm already shaking my head, telling him not to do it.
Most everyone is bright eyed, bushy tailed, and optimistic when they enter a Ph.D. program, but somewhere along the way, we get jaded. Along the way, we sell out and sell our soul. It takes a few years, but we learn that grad school is nothing like what we thought it would be. I haven't yet decided if it's the smart ones who get out or stick with it.
I hadn't fully realized or admitted all of this until yesterday. I went to a birthday party and met a guy halfway through his undergraduate career. I asked him what he studied, and then he said he was thinking about graduate school. He's barely spitting out the words, but I'm already shaking my head, telling him not to do it.
Most everyone is bright eyed, bushy tailed, and optimistic when they enter a Ph.D. program, but somewhere along the way, we get jaded. Along the way, we sell out and sell our soul. It takes a few years, but we learn that grad school is nothing like what we thought it would be. I haven't yet decided if it's the smart ones who get out or stick with it.
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