Yes, that's true. But what is pyramidish about grad school is the the idea that most doctoral students have going in that they are going to get a tenure track p

Yes, that's true. But what is pyramidish about grad school is the the idea that most doctoral students have going in that they are going to get a tenure track position at the end. That can't work because one professor may mentor dozens of grad students over time, and while universities may be growing, they aren't growing that fast. Of course being a professor isn't the only thing you can do with a doctorate, and lately schools are pointing out that you can go into industry or become a patent lawyer or whatever, but except in maybe CS or engineering, that isn't typically what people wanted to get a doctorate for.