Doc ImpossibleFeb 12, 2023

I don't regret my doctorate. I don't.

But if I had everything to do over again, I would *never* get a PhD.

It narrows your options in ways you'd never imagine. But that's not why.

The process of getting a PhD--at least, at this point in time--is inherently abusive. It's cruel. And it demands that you accept the abusiveness, the capriciousness, the lack of control over your own life and your own destiny, as both appropriate and inevitable. That you internalize the abuse and perpetrate it against yourself, without end. That service to others is everything, that you don't deserve time to yourself, that you never,ever deserve a vacation from your work, that your only human value is in whatever knowledge you have--knowledge which is constantly devalued and denigrated by others.

The PhD process is nothing short of hazing.

I love teaching at university. It is a great joy in my life. But it wasn't worth the price of admission, and I can never get off of this ride now.

Think twice before you walk this path.

Show threadIan Sudbery

@Impossible_PhD

I think the PhD experience is often abusive, but I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say it is *inherently* abusive. Or, at least, not any more inherently abusive than, say, employment.

In my PhD, I came in at 9, went home at 6:30, and didn't work many weekends, at least for the first 3 out of 4 years. I went on at least 4 weeks of holiday every year.

I'm aware this was 15 years ago, but I try hard to replicate that experience for the students I supervise today.

Feb 13, 2023 at 12:23pmWeb
Show threadDoc ImpossibleFeb 13, 2023

@IanSudbery I was expected to be a full-time student, teach two classes a semester, contribute to service at the department, and have notable scholarly output.

My doctoral stipend was $9000/year.

At an R1 university.

Show threadIan SudberyFeb 13, 2023

@Impossible_PhD And I wouldn't dream of telling you that your experience was exploitive.

I've no doubt that many PhD or even most PhD students do experience exploitation.

But that doesn't mean that a PhD is, or has to be inherently exploitative. It's not baked into the whole concept of a PhD. We can, and should work to create non-exploitive experiences.