4 ms·

> I can’t actually imagine someone in academia saying something so empty. The percentage of people in academia that aren't socially gifted is probably higher

• el_oni 3y ago
  I worked in an office with about 8 other PhD students, was in a research group with another 10, and was friendly with another 10-15. Social skills weren't lacking that much (don't get me wrong, we were a bunch of weirdos by some standards), but mental health certainly was. There is a lot of pressure on PhD students and anxiety and/or depression affected all but a handful. Most people go into the programme wanting to be academics afterwards, so you look up to the academics that are there, listen to what they have to say. At the same time a whole lot of your ego is tied up into the success or failure of your work. If somebody shits on your work, that can break you. I had therapy while in my final year, and so did a bunch of my peers, it's a meat grinder.
• caddemon 3y ago
  I don't disagree but the statement is also weird from the perspective of objective reality in 2023. My old PhD program's current 5 year graduation rate is way below 50%. I think it's like 10% if you don't count the MD/PhDs that are more likely to get pushed through quickly, but even including them it's not more than 25%. The 6 year graduation rate is barely hitting 50%! I don't know if it's field-dependent or if the Prof was just very out of touch, but graduation in 5 years is an anomaly at this point that actually suggests the person is more likely to have a planned industry (or medical school) exit. Weird to conclude the student is the problem en masse.