PhD student. Should I drop out?

[ucdresearch]

I make about 43k a year being a Phd Student along with working some side jobs. I'm in the humanities so low job prospects for sure.

I am going to finish my second year this coming May but I am considering dropping out because I have about 3-4 more years until I graduate.

If I were to drop out I would most likely become a teacher and make about 63k a year which is 20k more than what I make now.

Is it worth it to stick it out or make the extra money now? I live in a major city and rent and food prices are crazy. I live out of Airbnb's so I move every 4 months. It makes it hard to meet friends and partners and its getting old quick. Mainly my biggest concern is that I am losing out on money that I could invest or put towards buying a house or car. My car is 21 years old currently.

 

[pinkr0ses]

@ucdresearch I am a TT professor in the humanities, and I make a little under $60k. The money is just enough, living in a small city in the south. You can make that salary work in areas with low costs of living, but if you want to live in a big city, you'll need to make more.

Luckily, there are a lot of opportunities in alt-ac and other non-teaching career paths. It isn't easy, but you can work to prepare yourself for different kinds of jobs while getting your PhD. Talk to a career coach if your school has one.

 

[ucdresearch]

@pinkr0ses Thanks so much for your reply professor.

I originally started the program with the hopes to become a professor, however, the more I advance down the path, the more I realize its really not the career I thought it was. Grad school is hard and I hear some of the professors in my department talking about how stressed they are to publish and do all the departmental things, teach and whatnot.

Honestly I don't think I could handle 3 more years of this financial and emotional situation (imposter syndrome and pressures to publish, perform etc.) just to hopefully get a job somewhere and do 7 more years of that with the hope of getting tenure and job security. (West Virginia University just cut so many programs so really what is job security in the humanities)

Its also a lot of moving around and by the time I graduate and choose a place to live, ill be in my 30s. Its a lot to consider.

If you were 26 and in my position knowing what you know now, would you stay the course or find something else?

 

[mpgeyser]

@ucdresearch I got a PhD in economics, for all the wrong reasons; i.e. to please my dad. After half a career as an economist, I decided I hated it. Have changed careers twice. I've had 5 jobs in my career, none of them academic, and I only really liked one of them.

My suggestion: if you don't love it more than your classmates, you won't succeed in such a competitive field where there may be 3 graduates for every job, and as a humanities professor you may never feel like you have enough money to live comfortably. Even more so if you are borrowing money for graduate school. Bail out now and talk to a career coach about what you might like. Explore developing skills that might offer career paths for jobs that don't exist yet.

 

[fire_fly]

@mpgeyser To add to this, becoming a university professor is absurdly competitive. You need someone to die or retire to find a spot, and many bright and truly motivated people never make it. My only two friends who made it to become professors (dozens more got a PhD and didn’t) include:

1. Professor at mid tier university. Graduated suma cum laude from Harvard, then went to Oxford
2. Professor at high mid tier university. Graduated #1 in his class at Cornell, then got a PhD from MIT in 3 years

They each told me several hundred people applied for the spots they got. This shit is insane.

 

[mpgeyser]

@fire_fly It's not quite as improbable as a career in pro sports, but it's probably closer than people realize. There may be more jobs overall, but a tenured professor can have a 40+ year career, so vacancies are going to be much rarer. I don't really understand why so many people attempt it. At least in economics, I had several alternative career paths and was able to use my skills in other fields after some retooling.

 

[rtmtigwelder4472]

@ucdresearch I know this question is for @DoubleFolder and not of rest of the community, but I’d recommend you do your best to detach the negative effects of impostor syndrome and pressure to perform from the rest. You’ll need to adapt to that anywhere you go that is worth having you. The rest, that’s a tough decision. Good luck finding what’s right for you-

 

[4beasts]

@ucdresearch Anne Helen Petersen has done a ton of writing about academia, alt-ac, and the choices we make for non practical reasons. I highly recommend looking up her work. I’m not in academia but it explained a lot I’ve seen my academic friends go through.

 

[dixibehr]

@ucdresearch If it's any consolation, most PhD students feel imposter syndrome and are stressed by pressure to publish/perform. Some hide it better than others. But it's nearly universal.

Only you can decide what is right for you. I personally wouldn't get a humanities PhD in this job market (or any job market of the past 30 years tbh) but if you love what you're doing now it might be worth it for you.

 

[augusto]

@ucdresearch It sounds like you're not enjoying your program, so I would do something else. I finished my PhD and then went on to a different career, which I'm happy with. But I was enjoying my program, loving the chance to learn about what I was interested in. Academia definitely doesn't provide the nice work life balance it once did. It is as competitive and time consuming as investment banking, without the fat paycheck. If you'll have your MA at the end of this year, that will be good enough to signal your academic qualifications for 99% of jobs you'll get outside a university. It's a big world out there - take a look, explore, and try out some things that interest you!

 

[pinkr0ses]

@ucdresearch It really depends. I don't regret getting my PhD, because it made me a much better thinker and showed me what I was capable of. That said, quality of life for academics is deteriorating, and the money isn't great unless you get a TT job in a place that's unionized (my school is not, hence the low salary). I would say if you feel like your program is rewarding, if you're being challenged and learning a lot, stick with it, but work on developing some skills that are marketable outside of teaching. Or quit! That's OK too! But only if there's another path you are confident would give you the things you want in a career.

 

[francelina]

@ucdresearch It is extremely difficult even getting a professor position let alone one in humanities. How many people from your program graduate with TT jobs lined up? I honestly wouldn't continue if ur not feeling it. My friends who have phds in humanities ended up being high school teachers. You can do that now if that's your passion.

 

[ashlynlp]

@pinkr0ses What are examples of alt-ac paths a humanities PhD could pursue?

 

[pinkr0ses]

@ashlynlp Grant writing/editing, scholarly publishing, museum curating, and curriculum design come to mind.

 

[childofgod82]

@pinkr0ses You usually need a proven track record in each of those things, at least in the US. It really depends what your degrees and job experience are. Most programs don't prepare well for alt ac in my field (English lit). I'm working as an academic advisor and I have a much better shot of career and income progress than if I did adjunct teaching.

 

[pinkr0ses]

@childofgod82 My wife made the jump to grant editing. I freelance as a book designer, and am planning a jump to publishing. I know people who moved from teaching to curriculum design. As I said, it isn't easy, but it can be done.

 

[1stjohn0666]

@pinkr0ses Also corporate trainer

 

[palerider316]

@1stjohn0666 Depending on the degree and background this is possible. All trainers I know have backgrounds mixed with (some or all): instructional design, Human Resources, compliance, legal, and teaching. But these days many teachers I know who are looking to leave teaching are still needing background with ID, HR, and compliance versus straight out of teaching to corporate trainer.

 

[childofgod82]

@palerider316 Yeah this is the thing. Corporate learning design is very different than classroom teaching. Plus the market got flooded when teachers left classrooms during COVID.

 

[gordonie]

@ashlynlp I dropped out of a Humanities PhD post-Masters, but was always a tech hobbyist, and am now an IT Project Manager making double what I would have as a professor.

Project Management in general is not that hard to get into if you are a logical thinker, good communicator, and reasonably organized.