For me, it's always seemed a primarily American problem. Many of my close friends have done PhD's across Northern Europe also, and they say that while it's hard

For me, it's always seemed a primarily American problem. Many of my close friends have done PhD's across Northern Europe also, and they say that while it's hard, they also say that they have a good support system around them. Saying that though, I also know people in the UK doing PhD's, and they're having a horrible time. I think it's possibly a consequence heavily privatising education, and focus more on monetary profit over learning and inovation.