Yeah, exactly. Specifically the bit where tenured faculty really need the cheap labor of PhD students, so they're incentivized to paint a rosy picture of the te

Yeah, exactly. Specifically the bit where tenured faculty really need the cheap labor of PhD students, so they're incentivized to paint a rosy picture of the tenure-track prospects to encourage students to enter PhD programs -- "look at me! I achieved the dream!". Yet in reality the chance of these students reaching the tenure track are slim to none, and in fact the only way to be successful is by pulling more people into the pyramid below you to stand on. Much like how successful MLM sellers are incentivized to bring more and more sellers into the program under them ("look at me! I achieved the dream!"), even though the chance of any of those new sellers actually becoming successful are slim to none, and in fact the only way to be successful is by pulling more people into the pyramid below you to stand on.