Reply to Indiana University political science placement director writes scorched earth letter to PhD students

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]“Higher Ed is not what it used to be and it’s in part because so many people no longer value education.”

It is mostly because universities are immorally overproducing PhDs, knowing they will never get professorships, because grad students are a great source of revenue.[/quote]

So PhD students are victims? [b] They’re old enough and smart enough to make thoughtful, responsible decisions.  [/b]Some people love to learn. Not everyone is driven by financial ROI. Mocking their career outcome is pathetic.  I’d be thrilled to learn my kids have such educated and accomplished teachers in high school. Especially if they chose to work with teenagers. 
[/quote]

Potential PhD students need to ask the right questions, and so many of them are poorly advised. They might be told about how wonderful their star students are and how they land prestigious fellowships and jobs, but unless asked, PhD programs will not say how many students don't land tenure-track jobs, how many drop out, and how many never finish their PhDs. You can't make thoughtful, responsible decisions unless you have all the information you need. There are many, many 21 year olds who are still too young and uninformed about the reality of the academic job market when they apply to these graduate programs. They are smart, but not savvy consumers.[/quote]

This is exactly right. They tell you “yes the job market stinks but YOU are special and different, you will surely land a TT job, don’t worry about it.”[/quote]

Someone here is bitter. I’m sorry a professor stroked your ego but that’s not typical at all. They’re generally pretty letdown by students today. So maybe you really are special and they gave well-meaning but bad advice because they are happy to meet a student who is intellectually curious.  Ultimately, it was your decision and maybe you were too optimistic about the field. Colleges are hiring adjuncts over professors to save money. The US no longer respects education and intellectual pursuits. It’s a shame. [/quote]

Is it the same idiot in this thread who keeps saying "you sound bitter" or is there a whole crowd of idiots who say that? Why do you feel this idiotic need to project an imaginary emotional state onto other people?

It is absolutely the case that professors are still misleading students today about the prospects of academic employment. [/quote]

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