No, we don't need to abolish the PhD. We need to regulate and modernize it. Some of the perks of STEM PhD students in the Netherlands (and I would guess elsewhe

No, we don't need to abolish the PhD. We need to regulate and modernize it. Some of the perks of STEM PhD students in the Netherlands (and I would guess elsewhere in Europe): * Full employee status, including pension benefits. You're still underpaid of course, compared to market rates. This also addresses issues like parental leave and holidays. * PhD contracts are fixed-term, 1+3 years. If you are given a third fixed-term contract, you are entitled (by law) to convert your contract to indefinite term. This makes it hard to keep around students for longer than needed as cheap workers. * The typical format for a STEM PhD thesis is "story chapter" + peer-reviewed publications in verbatim. Which means you can spend more time on research instead on an exercise in futility. * PhD defense is purely ceremonial and timed. OFC, you can still be made look like a fool.