> PhDs taking forever is generally a lack of initial work by the student rather than any external factors. Not in my experience, especially for pre-tenured pro

> PhDs taking forever is generally a lack of initial work by the student rather than any external factors. Not in my experience, especially for pre-tenured professors who are in an existential "publish or perish" scenario that defines their careers. It may sound harsh... but they invest a lot in their early students & lab setup, so their goal is to keep students around, publish as many papers as possible, and win enough grants as possible off their work before letting them graduate. I know plenty of folks who did thesis-level work in their first 2-3 years... but then their advisor made them keep grinding for another 2-3 years before "letting" them submit to committee.