> Maybe you lose some income opportunity It's just not opportunity cost. As the article references, many PhD degrees don't increase earning potential at all in

> Maybe you lose some income opportunity It's just not opportunity cost. As the article references, many PhD degrees don't increase earning potential at all in part thanks to the adjunct system. So to be clear in the US it's a four year undergraduate degree (which usually comes with debt), then five or six years of working for near-poverty wages to obtain a PhD, and when you finally get it you find that you haven't increased your earnings potential from when you had no degree at all. It's fine to wax philosophical about getting a PhD to become a well-rounded gentleman but the issue at hand is higher education failing those relying on it for professional success.