
Grad School Enrollment vs. Unemployment Rate - timr
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1078
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SarahToton
I entered my PhD in 2003 (remember, it was after a kinda big crash). I beat
out 160 candidates to get one of seven slots. Since then, like many junior
scholars, I've been watching faculty retirement stats for new jobs. Now, I'm
finishing my dissertation, and here we are. I hope to either help create a
cool start-up or pray for a faculty position in 2010.

Oddly, PhDComics is one thing that's kept us going.

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delano
This is the first time I've realized that I don't feel comfortable clicking on
faces to navigate a website.

~~~
josefresco
Mystery meat navigation at it's best. Whoever designed this mess thought they
were pretty clever (fail).

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gamble
It's been shown that, on average, people who enter the workforce during a
recession earn less throughout their lives than people who graduate when the
economy is doing well.

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tom_rath
Meh. Those of us who entered the workforce during the last real recession in
the early 90s (not the hiccup some techies wet themselves over in 2001) did
just fine, thanks.

Look, if you're planning to graduate over the next while, things are going to
suck. Not "will I be able to get a job at cuulCmpny.com" suck, but "will I be
able to both pay rent and eat" suck. Nasty, soul-crushing stuff that'll make
you wonder if you were really as smart as you thought you were all this time.

Just keep your head and you'll come out of it fine. Your character will be
stronger, you'll have superb perspective and your long-term earnings will be
spiffy.

Don't waste energy worrying about whether or not you'll have a few more bucks
on your paystub in 20 years. There are a whole ton of other factors which can
affect that a lot more than the birth-sign of your economic zodiac.

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gamble
My comment was more concerned with the decision to graduate or stick around in
grad school. The data suggests that you may be better off in the long term if
you spend the recession earning another degree instead of cowering in a
cubicle.

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tom_rath
Well, for my own small sample of peers, those I know who took their chances in
the workforce came out of the recession better than those who earned another
degree (particularly if it was just 'something to do until things got
better').

If you're planning to spend your life cowering, it really won't matter whether
your choice is a cubicle or a classroom.

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timr
Which recession? The last one (2002-2003) is a bad example, since many of the
people who worked through it went crazy buying crap (i.e. houses, cars,
granite countertops) with the flood of cheap credit that was used to
"stimulate" the economy out of trouble.

I spent that period in grad school, and while I don't have houses and cars, I
also have no debt. I suspect I will end up better off in the long run -- we're
just not there yet.

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jfoutz
I think pg recommended grad school during recession. It's the perfect time to
take on debt. If you choose wisely, when things turn around, you'll have
skills that are in demand. Genetics and materials science seem like great
candidates for higher education if you can get somebody else to pay for it.

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eru
Physics should not be too bad, either.

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ced
Meh. I don't have hard data, but I would think that the one and only source of
money in physics, the USG, might choose to spend it in more "useful" fields.
That means, less opportunities for grad school.

That is, unless you're willing to go abroad. I'd recommend it.

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eru
I was more thinking along the lines of Physics Superpowers to make money in
completely unrelated fields.

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hugh
Completely unrelated fields like what?

Traditionally, the answer has been "Finance!" but I don't see that particular
job market bouncing back quickly.

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eru
How about management consulting?

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hugh
You're right, that's probably still going to be an option.

I'd forgotten about it, but I used to share an office with a guy who went into
management consulting at the end of his PhD.

Last time I saw him, he was trying to figure out whether one insanely large
number in Hong Kong dollars was worth more or less than some other insanely
large number in pounds sterling, because those were the salaries he'd been
offered.

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vaksel
not that surprising really, when you can't find a job, going to grad school
pretty much gives you a 2 year extension to wait for the market to bounce
back.

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neilc
It certainly confirms one's intuition, but the degree of correlation is pretty
surprising to me, assuming this is real data.

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timr
He cites the sources in the comic, and he's an engineer by training, so I'm
inclined to believe that he knows how to do the calculation. :-)

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SteveComenzo
No matter what, times are going to get very interesting... I just graduated (a
little later in life but hey, I did it). I also have a startup and have been
debating on moving across the country to the Bay area in order to give it a
real shot or keep bootstrapping as long as possible and go back to school and
wait it out. Decisions...

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sofal
I'm now desperately trying to decide between a master's and a PhD. I'm unsure
as to whether I should take the economy into account.

