Why do PhD students persist?

By Adam Kingsmith. Ever since I declared my intent to pursue a PhD I have been inundated with articles by academics and disgruntled graduate students warning me of the dangers of a doctoral education. I've read all of the editorials from all of the major academic publications. Yet regardless of how many "there are no jobs," "you'll be a poverty-stricken adjunct forever," "MOOCs are making traditional academics irrelevant," and "you'll be brainwashed into thinking all non-academic jobs are a failure" are thrown at me, here I stand, stubborn and starting a PhD in political science at York University this fall. Granted, the situation is not quite so dire here in Canada as in the U.S.. According to a recent report by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (PDF), student support is more accessible, the job market is less saturated, funding is granted for longer periods, and sessional faculty are paid more—an average of $5,000 to $6,000 per course versus $2,500 to $3,000 in the United States. However at last count, fewer than 20 percent of PhD graduates in Canada manage to secure full-time academic positions, and that number has been dropping annually. More...