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The PhD is has become the de facto replacement for the advanced workforce training programs (apprenticeship, guilds, corporate talent development programs) that
by ckrapu 2y ago
The PhD is has become the de facto replacement for the advanced workforce training programs (apprenticeship, guilds, corporate talent development programs) that many civilizations used to use. For some fields, you really do need to bang your head against a small number of problems without anyone holding your hand before you become proficient.
Not all PhD graduates get there; many just skate by because no one wants to fail them. They are an essential part of the modern labor force, though.
- saturn8601 2y agoThat may not be entirely true. Just look at all these people working in semiconductor fabs that China is trying to copy. A lot of that knowledge is institutional knowledge gathered from decades of specializing in one tiny area of the chain. That knowledge may be in a PHD program somewhere but more likely it is only on the job training.
- ckrapu 2y agoThat’s an interesting counter example. I agree to an extent, but I also point out that only in semiconductor work is it normal to have factory shifts of technicians who have PhDs.