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  • Luck and the Ph.D.

    By Joshua Kim December 21, 2010 9:15 pm EST

    The Economist makes a convincing case that pursuing a Ph.D. is, at best, irrational. In "The Disposable Academic" (12/16/10), the author (a holder of a "largely pointless Ph.D. in theoretical ecology") concludes that:

    "Many of those who embark on a Ph.D. are the smartest in their class and will have been the best at everything they have done. They will have amassed awards and prizes. As this year’s new crop of graduate students bounce into their research, few will be willing to accept that the system they are entering could be designed for the benefit of others, that even hard work and brilliance may well not be enough to succeed, and that they would be better off doing something else."

    Citing statistics from the Journal of Higher Education Policy, it appears that even employed Ph.D.'s do not enjoy much of a wage premium over people with a master's:

    "…..men with a bachelor’s degree earn 14% more than those who could have gone to university but chose not to. The earnings premium for a PhD is 26%. But the premium for a master’s degree, which can be accomplished in as little as one year, is almost as high, at 23%. In some subjects the premium for a PhD vanishes entirely."

    This is assuming that one can even complete the Ph.D. once started:

    "In America only 57% of doctoral students will have a Ph.D. ten years after their first date of enrollment. In the humanities, where most students pay for their own Ph.D.'s, the figure is 49%. Worse still, whereas in other subject areas students tend to jump ship in the early years, in the humanities they cling like limpets before eventually falling off."

    What can we conclude from all these statistics?

    My big takeaway is to recognize just how lucky I've been to have a rewarding (if unconventional) academic career. A book I highly recommend to everyone is The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, by Leonard Mlodinow. One of the big takeaways from the book is that we all tend to over-value our skills and our abilities, and under-value the role that chance has in determining our path.

    If we are currently making a living as a Ph.D. in an academic institution, (or in ed tech, publishing, non-profit or government), we should all recognize how lucky we are, and understand that it could have (and can go in the future) the other way. If we are struggling to land an academic job, or facing obstacles in our path to complete a degree, we should also recognize the role of circumstances and chance beyond our control.

    These days I'm at a particularly exciting part of my career, working with a group of incredibly smart and passionate people to launch an exciting and innovative new program. Days fly by, and although the work is absorbing and seemingly never-ending, the gig is about as good as it gets in academia. I also recognize that getting to utilize my Ph.D. in a way that challenges and invigorates is, in many senses, due to luck. Right place at the right time.

    The question whether or not you, or anyone else (say my brother) should pursue a Ph.D. in today's academic job market is an important one. I'm hoping that any of us who have landed, if however briefly, in good academic or ed tech job takes a minute to acknowledge just how lucky we really are.

    Happy Holidays everyone.

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Comments on Luck and the Ph.D.

  • Economics alone is a shallow analysis
  • Posted by Harry Coverston , Instructor/Philosophy at University of Central Florida on December 22, 2010 at 8:30am EST
  • It is not surprising that from the view of the Economist, Ph.D.s are luxuries that have no real value, ultimately. Of course, that presumes that the values the Economist holds – monetary compensation – are the only values worth considering. As usual, economic analysis alone proves rather shallow.

    I earned not only a Ph.D. but also a J.D. and an M.Div. prior to that. I am a now inactive member of the state bar and an inactive ordained Episcopal priest. With my Ph.D. I hold a permanent instructorship at an overcrowded state university where I make less than either of my siblings, one who has a masters in communication and works for a computer software company, the other who has a bachelors and is the foundation director for a public school system.

    In all honesty, while I feel no compulsion to compete with my siblings, I resent the fact that I am not paid anywhere close to what my education and expertise is worth. But I also am the child of a public school teacher with a masters degree who was never paid what he was worth in his 30 years of teaching public schools and community college. Ultimately, this says a lot more about the values of the culture in which we live which places a low premium on education and a high premium on well trained but poorly educated – and thus compliant - workers.

    At the same time, my doctoral represents for me the actualization of my personal potential. My doctorate in religion, law and society pulled together my work as a lawyer and as a priest. I would never have felt satisfied with myself had I not completed that degree given my capabilities to do so. And for that reason, I would never advise one of my capable students who sought a doctorate not to do so strictly for the reasons the Economist lists. I would, however, point out to them its statistics. It’s one thing to pursue a post-graduate degree of any kind idealistically and quite another to make an informed choice.
  • Persistence
  • Posted by T FEdak , Manager Distributed Medical Education at Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine on December 22, 2010 at 9:15am EST
  • I enjoyed your blog post about the importance of luck, however I might reframe the perspective a bit. We are certainly lucky to have secured rewarding work in academia, and for having had an opportunity to complete a PhD, but for me - the greatest lessons I learned in my PhD were about myself and about the importance of persistence. Persistence after-all is the only true determinant of success. While the outcome of trying will remain uncertain, the only certainty is that you will fail to achieve a goal if you quit.

    My PhD provided me with an ability to hone my thinking and communication skills to a point that would not have been possible with a Masters. While I am not currently working in my field of study, I actually find the break refreshing and still have it in my mind to return someday. Persistence!

    Happy Holidays,
    T
  • Money is not the end all be all, but it is important.
  • Posted by Dr. Pepper , Academic-in-training at Northeast on December 22, 2010 at 9:45am EST
  • Having just completed a fourth Master's degree (and having spent enough time as a grad student to have earned a PhD if I wanted to), I can say that I am probably not paid what I am "really" worth. However, money is not the only motivator. By going through 4 masters programs (an MBA, an MA, an MS and an MEd) I have expanded my mind and enjoyed the journey. Luckily I have little debt since I have been able to take advantage of employer tuition reimbursements.

    I am now thinking of getting a PhD, but unlike the Masters degrees, most PhDs are not part time, and thus would not be eligible for tuition reimbursement. Money coming in is not the end motivator, but money going out IS a major detractor.

    Peeking at what faculty make where I work (public institution, publicly available payrolls), I can say that they make about the same that I make now, so going for a PhD just for monetary reasons isn't what's important to me. Although if you do manage to get a tenure track position you do get summers off, which is a nice perk.

    The sad thing is that for my chosen career path (directorship of an EdTech group), there is such a glut of PhDs out there, that they seem to get preferential treatment for such job postings, so people with just a masters are at a disadvantage. I guess a PhD might be a job necessity, if you want to be competitive ;-)

    Off to look at PhD programs during the Christmas break lol.
  • Posted by andrea on December 22, 2010 at 10:45am EST
  • What happened to those foundation-funded programs to shorten PhD programs? 10 years is simply too long. And thanks for reminding us about the need to simply be grateful for the happiness we might be lucky enough to find in our jobs.
  • This is depressing...
  • Posted by PhD Seeker , College Chair and Faculty at High Education Institution on December 22, 2010 at 11:15am EST
  • As I enter into my third year residency, and consider the amount of work I have put into the last two years of the PhD program...it is depressing to see this article. It is a personal journey to seek a PhD, and not one of solely an economic purpose. I sure hope that this author never finds himself in a mentoring or coaching role....
  • Only if you can't do anything else
  • Posted by Phred on December 22, 2010 at 1:00pm EST
  • For the past 25 years, my advice to the occasional student who asked about graduate school has been 1) do it only if you are so passionate about the subject that you don't mind not having a job on the other end and 2) do it only if you are convinced that you are not fit for anything else.
    The bottom dropped out of the academic market while I was in the midst of getting my Ph.D. I finished and am happy that I did so, but I ended up in an alternative career.
    I would like to see the same analysis applied to MA degrees, especially those that are not useful for certification or increased salary.
  • @ everyone
  • Posted by Graduate Student on December 25, 2010 at 6:30am EST
  • As someone who is going into the instructional design field, there are plenty of EdTech director jobs out there that don't require a PhD. If you're not willing to re-locate, then you will have a problem. Part of the glut of PhDs is that there are too many graduate programs granting the doctorate degree. Also, why can't someone be highly trained AND educated. I've noticed that they are always talked about as opposites.
  • Other benefits of the doctorate to consider
  • Posted by Annika on December 26, 2010 at 2:15pm EST
  • While wages are not following the expertise a doctorate holder has, it is important to note that there are some positions that, while not requiring a doctorate, tend to be awarded to those who hold the highest degree. So while we may not be paid what we are worth, we at least have a decent position. I think we should also think about what the doctorate gave us in terms of skills--are we able to better perform our job duties, whatever they may be? If so, wasn't it worth it?

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