4 ms·
Everything has become far more competitive and it is now far easier to crash and burn. I had a professor recently be disappointed that I only have a 3.9 GPA bec
by sudosysgen 4y ago
Everything has become far more competitive and it is now far easier to crash and burn. I had a professor recently be disappointed that I only have a 3.9 GPA because that meant they'd have less funding if I was to do research for them. Thankfully it didn't matter because I couldn't justify foregoing a well paid internship for that position. This is at a university with very little grade inflation - in many classes the average is a D among those who don't drop out in a department with a sub 20% undergrad graduation rate.
At the same time if you want to get ahead in many fields you'll be expected to do 20-40 hours of unpaid work a week, while maintaining crazy high averages. Outside of STEm you often also have to get pretty high academic standards if you ever want to actually use your education. And if you fail out with accumulated student debt where applicable, that's a massive setback that might mean you permanently miss out on financial milestones.
At the same time, the internet doesn't forget, so it's also a lot easier to permanently crash and burn socially.
And it's getting worse every year, too.
- j7ake 4y agoOne anecdote about increasing competitiveness: some paths to phd sciences involve now “post bac”. You spend a few years after your bachelors working in a research lab to get your name on a paper and a reference letter to get you into a top PhD program. This postbac, coupled with longer postdocs and tougher tenure track, mean the academic path is getting harder and harder to realise.
- junofan 4y agoIt’s a lot easier if you have a relative who’s walked that path. Therefore it’s becoming hereditary at competitive programs.
- scaredginger 4y agoI think 'nepotistic' is a better description
- bongoman37 4y ago
- atemerev 4y agoThat’s because there is no shortage of new entrants to the academia. Everyone still wants their PhD (myself included) for some mystical reason.
- j7ake 4y agoOne reason is that a bachelors degree in many sciences (eg life sciences) does not lead to many good jobs. In life sciences, getting a job after your PhD is an entry level job.
- atemerev 4y agoGetting a job right after your PhD is by definition an entry level job — it will be a first one (and it will pay poorly, unless you are going to quant finance — and you can go there without a PhD too). So getting a PhD to get a better job makes nearly zero sense. You only need one if you plan to stay in the academia (I do, but it will be extremely hard).