I disagree with the premise. I went to grad school to do research. None of my cohort sees ourselves as losers. The trick is to go to grad school in a field whe

I disagree with the premise. I went to grad school to do research. None of my cohort sees ourselves as losers. The trick is to go to grad school in a field where you can get funding. Then, you can get paid to learn and write papers. Then it's like a day job -- no losing necessary. I haven't seen any of the "Who goes to grad school?" thinkpieces the author mentions, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet the authors of such thinkpieces probably haven't been to grad school either...