I’m convinced that one reason some people won’t let themselves let go of the dream, despite years of external signals suggesting that they should, is a sense that it would reflect a personal moral failing. They’ve identified so completely with the ‘meritocracy’ myth that they feel a real need to redeem themselves within it. It’s more than the money; other fields often pay more. Instead, they see the status of “tenured professor” as a sort of validation of everything they’ve done. Leaving the academy would be admitting defeat and accepting failure; lifelong “A” students, as a breed, aren’t very good at that. It’s not what they do.
Like many of you, I've often wondered why it's so hard for people who are miserable to give up the ghost and try for a different sort of job. I particularly wonder about really unhappy grad students since they are early enough in their careers to take a different path. I think Dean Dad hit the nail right on the head. I don't really even have anything to add here.
5 comments:
I think it's also that when you are in grad school, there's a big push by professors to stay. To get your PhD if you are working on your Masters. There's a fundamental disconnect between what your professors want you to do, and the number of jobs available.
I definitely agree with Ruchi. There is so much pressure to stay in academia from your supervisor --- because, of course, it makes THEM look good if you stay and makes them look bad if you don't.
Thankfully I didn't give a damn what my supervisor wanted! LOL! However, a friend of mine was told that if he didn't apply for post-docs, he would have a hard time getting his PhD :S
So true about the potential disconnect between aspirations of students and their advisors. Alyssa, that story about your friend is nuts! I hate hearing about unethical things like that.
This is so true. Additional pressure may come if it was hard to get that position in the first place -- e.g., if the program is very competitive, or if you've moved far away for the PhD. In the latter case, your social support network is minimal, making it harder to recognize if this really is a miserable situation you should leave, or if it's just harder than before (after all, grad school _is_ hard) and you have to learn to deal with it... I've seen a lab were about 50% of the students quit, and most of them were locals. The foreigners put up with a lot more crap... But of course the I'm-not-a-quitter attitude does not help in this case, either.
Good point.
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