Why do you want a PhD?

The New York Times published an astonishing and depressing article yesterday about the lengths to which some Chinese students and their families will go to gain admission to elite academic institutions. Egalitarianism aside, their stance is painful to read about because it suggests such dependency on "prestige" and the belief that a famous degree will open more doors. (To be fair, I'm almost completely interpolating, but I'm not sure what other explanations are plausible.) A famous degree probably does open more doors immediately after college, but I'm confident the extra opportunity is not worth the price these families are paying. I went to one of these fancy-pants schools for undergrad; it was fantastic, and my peers were a constant source of inspiration, but I've no illusions that these famous schools are the surest or likeliest path to a wonderfully successful life*.

Moreover, I wonder when these students and their families will, if ever, switch strategies. How much prestige in life is enough? When can you turn away from opportunity? Would it be acceptable to go to one of these schools and then become a massage therapist? (I have a friend who did something like this. She told me she loved watching the looks on the faces of the parents of students at our private prep school alma mater when they heard she went to Elite Ivy U and now dances professionally at parties.) If the purpose of higher education at these institutions were more focused on serving society, I might have some sympathy for disappointment with less cerebral or influential careers; however, the majority of people seem to consider these educational opportunities largely as springboards for personal gain**. Massage therapy might arguably be more beneficial to others than many positions in finance.

This post is a round-about way of exploring motivations for getting a PhD. I assert that the following reasons are weak and insufficient:

• A PhD degree is prestigious. It is prestigious in some circles, but the prestige is shrinking or nonexistent among most of your probable reference groups. Regardless, if you need to feel that other people think you're smart, you're not so cut out for the intellectually humbling experience of research. Also, you will probably make a really annoying and arrogant collaborator.
• A PhD degree will help me land a tenure-track academic position. It's true that you can't become a professor in most countries without a PhD or its equivalent. However, the majority of people with PhDs in science who plan to become tenture-track professors do not actually become tenure-track professors, at least in the U.S. and Europe. This is not for lack of trying. The job market is terrible, and there's no reason to believe it will improve considering the trends in higher ed. This topic is probably worthy of multiple other posts.
• A PhD degree isn't a bad thing to get while I figure out what I want to do. Actually, there are several reasons why it might be worse than doing nothing. (1) In a philosophically and emotionally vulnerable phase of your life, you will effectively be drinking academic Kool-Aid. In many departments, academia is still the only socially acceptable career goal for graduate students, and many professors disingenuously promote the idea that anyone can get a professorship. These conditions will warp your thinking and preferences. (2) The financial and professional opportunity costs are large. Especially if you might want to work in industry, it might be better to start doing bench work right away, and you can discuss opportunities for advanced degrees with your coworkers. Many PhDs trying to go into industry find themselves overqualified or "incorrectly" qualified, i.e., industry would rather train someone cheaper who has more practical experience. (3) A PhD requires excessive time and focus, leaving you few opportunities to explore other directions.

It might be good to think about what percentage of your motivation can be attributed to the factors above. In my view, the only acceptable conditions for doing a PhD are:

• I want to learn how to do research, and
• I don't mind substantially reducing my immediate and probably lifelong earning potential.

The second point might not matter now, but consider that it might when you're older, trying to start a family, and have minimal savings. Unfortunately, there are huge gender differences here: a study of U.S. postdocs revealed that women are more apt to think about the material consequences of their professional choices on potential future families than men are, and this thinking might lead to the high attrition of female postdocs. (The implication is that low salary and career instability are an indirect source of gender discrimination in academia--I'll write more about finances during grad school in a future post.) In certain fields such as engineering, the PhD can precede huge increases in salary, but this is not guaranteed.

In summary, do your research before doing your research: Learn about the potential trajectories of your career and any large field-related trends before committing to a PhD. Do not procrastinate on thinking about what you want to be doing with your life in five and ten years. And remember that though the commitments can be annulled, it's better to leave sooner rather than later. If you've been exceedingly driven your whole life or have family members who have been encouraging you (explicitly or implicitly) to get a PhD, think especially hard about your motivations.

*Even if you define success as something lame like "get lots of money" or "become famous."

**That said, I think the more elite/wealthy the institution, the more apt they are to emphasize the importance of social service to their students and to make such career paths more accessible. I'm not sure if their students are more apt to take advantage of these opportunities, however.