Tenure is often not a prize that offers the solid reward you mention. In many departments, even tenured professors must receive grant awards equivalent to larg

Tenure is often not a prize that offers the solid reward you mention. In many departments, even tenured professors must receive grant awards equivalent to large percentages (or even exceeding) their salary. So, your freedom to pursue what you wish holds only when what you wish to work on is funded. I completely agree that the odds are low for most people pursuing PhDs obtaining a tenure track position. I'm somewhat hopeful that PhD study will become a sane and respectable choice for people who don't have a tenure track career goal in mind. But for this to happen, the nature of PhD study needs to embrace the idea of a "terminal" PhD. And in all honesty, I suspect that a terminal MS with an appropriate thesis tacked on is more than sufficient to satisfy that itch.