Doing a Ph.D. can be a worthwhile endeavor, one that brings you lots of meaning and fulfillment. However, it can also be a stress-ridden nightmare that you cannot wait to wake up from. The truth is, Ph.D.s have been overly glamorized by pop culture when in most cases, they are not what they are made out to be.
There are good and bad reasons to do a Ph.D., and good reasons are the ones that determine your experience. Deepening your knowledge of a subject because you have a passion for it is a good reason. However, using it as a shortcut towards a cushy academic job is not a good reason.
First and foremost, a Ph.D. is primarily meant for those who intend to pursue a career in academia. Do you have a passion for teaching and researching? If yes, then great, keep reading, but if not, then a Ph.D. is not for you.
If you are having trouble deciding if you should do a Ph.D. or not, then sincerely consider the following points, and perhaps you will find some clarity.
In this Article
Main goal of a Ph.D. aspirant
As I mentioned in the beginning, a Ph.D. is first and foremost designed to make you an academician, that is, join academia and become a professor. Moreover, being a university professor is not only about teaching classes, but you will also be expected to publish original research throughout the year depending on your subject and the University you are teaching at.
Sure, there are cases where people do Ph.Ds for professional advancement in specific fields, but these cases are rare and don’t accurately depict what a Ph.D. is meant for.
Hence, you need to know before you commit to a Ph.D. what your goal in life is. If academia is not your dream career, then there is no use in doing a Ph.D. unless you have time to spare and got nothing better to do.
Competition is too high.
So you share a passion for research and teaching? Good. However, here is something else to consider. In the USA, of every 100 people who start a Ph.D. program, 50 will either quit or fail, and of the remaining, only 10 will go onto acquire a tenure-track job.
Academic jobs vary significantly in terms of the duties you perform, your compensation, and freedom you have in deciding what your research will be and what you will publish.
The high-paying cushy academic jobs that people have in mind are scarce. Those are the jobs that fall under tenure-track. Tenure-track jobs are the gold standard of academic jobs. There is quite a lengthy and laborious process involved in getting a tenure; however, you have absolute freedom in deciding how you conduct your research once you get it. You cannot be fired unless you commit some gross misconduct. You have to do minimal teaching, if at all, and get paid the highest salary possible in academia. However, the last point mainly depends on which University you are employed at.
The vast majority of jobs in academia are not tenure-track. Non-tenured jobs include such titles as instructor, lecturer, senior lecturer, distinguished lecturer, professor of the practice, assistant teaching professor, associate teaching professor, teaching professor, etc. These jobs are not ideal because you don’t have much job security, the pay is not great, and you spend 99 percent of your time teaching next to no research.
Pay varies greatly
If you are in it solely for the money, then a career in academia may not be the best choice for you. Salaries in the academic world vary significantly from one University to another and from one discipline to another. A top-tier university like Harvard has a yearly endowment of around $38-billion, which is why they can afford to pay their professors an average of $220,000 and assistant professors about $122,000 annually.
However, this is only true for the most highly ranked universities with funding in the billions of dollars. In contrast, Tusculum College in Tennessee, with its $16-million endowment, pays around $43,000 a year to their professors.
Also, keep in mind that I am talking about the USA specifically. If you look into other countries, especially developing countries, then the matters get way worse.
Misconceptions regarding cost
It is a common misconception that all or most Ph.D. programs are fully funded. While it is true that most programs will waive tuition fees and offer you a monthly living stipend, in some cases, however, you will either have to take out a loan or work part-time during your Ph.D.
The fully-funded Ph.d. scholarships you usually hear about are offered by some of the world’s best universities. The vast majority of universities worldwide, especially the smaller ones, cannot afford to fund their Ph.D. students.
Moreover, even if you get a partially or fully funded Ph.D. scholarship, you will only be covered for 5 or 6 years at most, after which you will have to pay yourself if you fail to complete your Ph.D. in the allotted time.
Bottom line
Attaining a Ph.D. can be a noble and meaningful pursuit if you have the passion for learning and researching in a specific discipline; however, going into such a significant decision of your life blindly will do you no right.
If you read through this entire article without being dissuaded and you believe in your abilities, then you might as well be the right candidate for a Ph.D. I would suggest that you read a little more about the topic and make an informed decision.
However, if any of the things I mentioned caused doubt and discomfort, perhaps your calling in life is elsewhere.
Whatever you decide is entirely up to you, but my advice is to do your homework beforehand and make an informed decision.