Woah I just got this. The computerized voices represent the soullessness of these people who have ironically lost their humanity earning their degree in the humanities. Can I get my PhD now?

"Shakespeare, Emerson . . . and death."

"Now, more than ever,I have profound thoughts, about death."

LOL when I got my Ph.D. in English, the next day I went to Manpower in Evanston, got a temp-sec job for $5 an hour, and did secretarial work for the Development Department at Northwestern. I had profound thoughts about death, too.

listen to the wind in the background

I especially appreciate the sound of the cold, bitter wind blowing in the background. ;-)

thomas h benton is a pseudonym for william pannapacker, the uploader of this video. he wrote many columns for the chronicle of higher education that outline why graduate education in the humanities is not structured to support the eventual livelihood of graduates students -- and worse, how it also shames them - by repeating nonsense about "the life of the mind" and "the love of it" - into believing that pursuing anything outside the academic world is beneath them and would make them failures.

This is literally one of the most depressing videos I've ever watched in my entire life.

Depressing... I want a Phd...

I don't know why, but that wind howling in the background was hilarious.

love the howling wind sound effect

The howling wind in the background is an especially nice touch.

Meanwhile, that guy in high school who graduated at the bottom of the class and became a plumber is making twice as much as your peak income will ever be.

this is so depressingly accurate.

"I do not have a trust fund." "Oh . . ."

Take this advice seriously. Getting a PhD in any humanities field is the same thing as pledging a life of POVERTY and DESTITUTION.

Love this one, especially the dig at Thomas Benton. His posts in the Chronicle were always my favorites. I actually worked as an adjunct professor for 20 years! I finally obtained a tenure-track job at a small college and then, tenure. Now, unfortunately, our college is being consolidated with another institution. No one knows what that will mean.....

I'm applying to English PhD programs (first application's due Monday)...Luckily, I'm doing my diss on Plath, Shakespeare, and Death. LOL

I ' M G O I N G T O B E A C O L L E G E P R O F E S S O R

@TheChromelover it really all depends on your major. I went to grad school and then law school and to this day I thank myself for making that decision everytime I am considered "more qualified" than the competition due to an added degree to my CV.

Our wise and powerful Director of Graduate Studies in the Humanities counsels a young woman considering a doctorate in English in the next installment "Counseling a Prospective Graduate Student in English"

The Thomas H. Benton paper dates from 2009 but is still relevant. You can read it at Chronicle Of Higher Education, available online. Sadly, I know people even at Harvard who can't get teaching jobs.

"Now might be a good time to tap into your trust fund" lol

"Now more than ever, I have profound thoughts...about death." Ha ha!

Shakespeare, Emerson...and death. In that order.

Still pure gold in 2023.

Oh, dear...this is too true. I'm one of the lucky few who got a job after the PhD; I am grateful EVERY day I wake up.

"i do not have a trust fund" "oh"

wind background sound just makes this video hilarious....and death

Our dept is not even among the best paying. Each year, we have to compete with peer institutions every year for graduate students by trying to offer better funding packages. Ten years ago a student was sometimes admitted without secure funding (though they would succeed in getting teaching asst work for a stipend), but now a 5-yr package is mandatory. We take supporting our grad students very seriously. But it is true that only 20 of 400 applicants is admitted.

It's all true. Plus universities are increasingly hiring sessional workers rather than offering ongoing work.

--Granted, these are not middle-class wages, though the benefits are pretty secure. Grad students often room together to save money, for instance. It is the cruelties of the job market and the exploitation of adjuncts that are the worst financial hits after the degree.

Nope. Not wrong. I work in Academia. Tier 1 Research Institution. Every single year we admit @20 grad students to our dept. and fund them ALL for full tuition plus stipend for 5 years (with no teaching duties the first year). This is a humanities dept. The Math dept does similar funding.

@VladmirVelasco My point is not necessarily that a P.h.D. will give you extremely high end jobs outside academia, I'm simply stating that you don't necessarily have to spend your life flipping burgers. Often, if you have the will and initiative there are other options. Besides, why does it matter if someone gets a job that a bachelors degree can? I don't think anyone sets off to get a P.h.D. because they believe that they'll end up with some super high quality job.

There is a misunderstanding: grad students generally do not pay tuition--at many if not most universities they receive a tuition waver plus stipend and health benefits, usually for @ five years. Outside fellowships increase the stipend or relieve one of TA duties. This is true in the Humanities too. People not offered full funding should not enroll in grad school, nor to borrow to do so. The student loans she is talking about were likely still hanging over her head from undergrad.

This seems to imply to live a life of the mind one must be a professor. Pursue other career interests than just adjunct professorship of you will be stuck in a dead end job. Being a humanities P.h.D. gives much more versatility than commonly thought. I know an english P.h.D. who edits a petroleum magazine.

@TheChromelover Chemistry is different. A B.S. in Chemistry qualifies you to work in a research lab, but a PhD in Chemistry can qualify you to run your own research lab, which pays at least two to three times as much. The sciences (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) is the area where a PhD benefits you the most when it comes time to get a job in that field (unless you want to be a High School science teacher).

Similar at LSU: "Most Mathematics Graduate Students are supported by Teaching Assistantships, which pay academic-year stipends from $12,500 to $17,800. If combined with a Graduate School Enhancement, the maximum stipend can be as high as $25,800 per academic year (9 months). Graduate assistants pay no tuition, but they are liable for several hundred dollars per semester in other fees. For students desiring to continue their studies in the summer, summer assistantships are awarded...

Stanford's Math dept website: "If admitted to the PhD program, will I receive financial aid?" "All admitted PhD students who make satisfactory progress are fully funded for five years. Funding sources include: department fellowships, teaching assistantships and research assistantships."

e.g. UPENN: "our financial support package lasts for five years for students making good progress toward their Ph.D... The University has announced that during 2009-10, all full-time fully-funded Ph.D. students in the School of Arts and Sciences will receive a stipend of at least $21,630 for ten months, in addition to a full-tuition scholarship and free health insurance (for up to six years, when fully funded). In addition they frequently receive a stipend for teaching or research in later...

had a Opening at my local 4 year university for a teaching position, 1 position, over 300 applicants...why the hell would you even bother with a PH.D

My situation was slightly different (MA in English from a public ivy). I bailed when I realized just how dire the job market is for humanities. Also, a PhD would've priced me out of my career interests. Forget that!

people need to stop falling for the higher education trap - pursuing a degree that doesn't give you technical skills is a horrible decision. - Engineering - good Computer science - good, law - good, medicine - good, history, english, philosophy, women's studies, art, drama, psychology - bad

@xMidnightWingsx It's not the payment that's the reward, Midnight. It's the same if you were to become an artist. You could fill NYC with starving artists. (They'd be poorer than ever there, and probably still be painting) It's just that painters' quality can be taken in in a glance. A teacher's can't.

if graduate schools are useless, why do so many people still wanna apply? im confused

Plus, you can't mistake current political and economic realities for permanent ones.

I LOVE STEM, STEM FOR EVER!!! GOT MY DEGREES IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE YEARS AGO, LOTS OF BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS, AT 56 STILL MEGA EMPLOYABLE, NEVER BORING NOR stupid... Just simply AWESOME!!!

This is very true....

I'm so glad I decided not to get a PhD. :| Good grief.

This needs a voice actor.

Because if you're in grad school, you can postpone paying off your student loans when you don't get a job with your undergrad degree.

Not quite going PhD. I have a BA in economics. I'm working a a second degree (BBA) in management information systems. Afterwards, I want to get a MA in economics. Been in school for quite some time now, but I love it.

This is so savage 🤣

Why is there wind noise?

It is all true.

Throw your money at me instead. You dont have to sit in a class.

Arkansas: "The Department of Mathematical Sciences provides financial support to about sixty graduate students in the form of Teaching Assistantships, scholarships and awards, and Doctoral Fellowships. Students with a Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship can receive as much as $33,000 in funding per year, in addition to a full tuition waiver and subsidized health insurance"

is this really what its like?? because that makes me so sad. I mean, i'm only in high school right now, but i've always wanted to be educated in advanced degrees and possibly become a professor...but if its this bad...well, i dont think i want a life where i work my ass off and hardly get paid. :/

This is reality.

What is the video trying to say about Thomas Benton?

So English majors... what do you have against Thomas H. Benton? who is he? =P

Supply and demand, baby. Academic careers are like trying to get into Hollywood. It takes talent, but also connections and luck. There's a high risk you'll fail and a low chance of success, but some people are stupid - cough - I mean dedicated enough to try anyway. Only go into this field if you're prepared to handle the conditions and you can't see yourself doing anything else.

it depends on the field you go to. In the end, its pretty simple. College fund departments, programs, professors because they bring in grants from outside. Colleges gets a big cut of that grant money. Which is why humanities professors don't have jobs or good salary, what do they need grants for? fancy pens? type writers? While academia is never going to be a high paying field, not all are as bad as Humanities. Just do your research, talk to graduates, look at the jobs they get in the field.

@barrysteven Due to "durrr personal finance? I don't need to care about that crap! I'm a free spirit!"

It doesn't matter. I am going to become a college professor. 😂😭😂

you do know that the unemployment rate for people with humanities degrees is at 5.4% which is actually really good lol

oh god

Actually this is starting to go on to global scale. The creator of this clip must had experienced it himself or had seen it happening to others. People equate education level with status and wealth. When you get a PhD in anything (And I mean anything!), your default salary will be very high. Given the influx of cheap foreign labors now, bosses will definitely hire someone who is cheap and can get the job done. Getting a PhD is shooting yourself in the leg unless you are damn sure that you can become a professor at some prestigious university. Heck, there were a lot of people who completed PhD before you do and are already queuing up for teaching profession in all universities.

There but for the grace of God go I...........

Actually, this is the case. But to advise "people not offered full funding should not enroll in grad school, nor to borrow to do so," as was mentioned below...why blame the victim?!

Come to think of it, the first 2 years were really a rip off too. Generals... ha! What was high school for? 2 years before you even get to what you're going to college for lol Madness :/

I think that, I agree with some things but ultimately it would be detrimental to the quality of academic work if it were the other way around. The way it stands, only serious pursuers of knowledge for the sake of knowledge are in graduate programs in the humanities. Now, if there was real money to be made by doing it, you'd get people joining academia for bad reasons and get worse professors.

Fuck this... * * quits college and applies for a CDL license * *

lmfao

@dzsquared1 Don't go. That would be my advice. Before you assume that I am douche bag who never had a good education himself, let me tell you that I hold a masters degree in engineering from a public ivy. When I was in your stage (ie, just about to begin grad school), I was as excited as you. I was admitted as a PhD candidate, but I soon realized that grad school is a HELL HOLE and I bailed out with a masters degree. My advice - don't go to grad school, get a job, become an adult. Good luck !

while she grew in academia she hasn't grown inpracitcality

Can you just tap into your trust fund?

So true, LOL

This is depressing.

um. this is NOT true. most math and science grad students are $120k in debt JUST from grad school. you haven't been in academia recently to know, but the new reality for education in america is a disaster.

Moto of the story, screw teaching and research.

HAW HAW HAW

haha, good thing I'm a chemical engineering major.

hahahahahahahaha....there should be rules about what and how long a person can go to school on OUR dime now that the federal government has taken over student loans...there has to be a possibility of getting an actual wealth creating job in the private sector, not only the public sector. Semper Fi.

Oh my god, I can so relate!!

Liberal arts degree, a "smattering of this and that"...hahaha, 4yrs study and the loan to pay for it and NO SPECIALIST TRAINING,,,,, hahahaha,,,,,

WTF is this crap holy moly, give me some resistors transistors and diodes make me a computer a robot what the hell

haha trust fund....

This is why you get a PhD in STEM.

lol is getting a PhD hard or something? I'm fairly sure one can do it part time while defending freedom....

This is nonsense. There are plenty of full-time jobs in higher education if you are willing to go where they are and start out with low pay. You will eventually rise to a very decent salary and have life satisfaction teaching and mentoring even the "inferior" students at a third rate college. It is a wonderful career and "the life of the mind" can still be yours. Do not listen to the voices of failure.