The solution is to stop lying to students about what a PhD is.

Please help me change my mind about this, happy to hear your views.

6/6

This also causes a ripple effect, where industry leaders start seeing the PhD as a requirement for various positions.

Academic institutions should be more transparent about this. The solution is not to include industry in the PhD.

5/n

To me, offering more industry related opportunities during a PhD is deception. I see it as a way for institutions to “sell” more PhDs, making it seem like it’s beneficial outside of academia when realistically it is not.

4/n

Yes, a PhD will provide some transferable skills. However, you can obtain such skills with work experience rather than doing a PhD, which will also likely end up being a higher return investment (i.e., entering a role for 5-6 years vs spending those years for a PhD).

3/n

A PhD has traditionally been training for transitioning to independent academic research in a specified field. It is meant for people who want to follow an academic path.

It has nothing to offer outside of academia.

2/n

Is the correction for the ω-protocol?

In this cycle there are never enough options for those who can actually bring the change to eventually bring the change.

How do we change, when those who can actually bring change risk not making it into the system at all?

[7/7]

I’m often worried that this is a vicious cycle: we want change, the system gets to us before there’s a shift towards the change, once we are privileged enough some will get back to remembering and advocating for the change we originally wanted, and repeat.

[6/n]

Because, one thing that is often forgotten, is that above all, we need to first make sure that we have a roof under our heads and a plate of food.

[5/n]

So, how do you expect early career researchers to put on a fight, when:

-hiring committees will look at our numbers and where we published
-funders will do the same
-senior collaborators will push for maximum output above everything else?

[4/n]

It’s easy to advocate for change and challenge the system once you’ve already climbed a few steps of the academic ladder. E.g., how much difference does it make for the career of early career researchers to avoid publishing in “Prestigious Journal XYZ” versus to that of tenured faculty?

[3/n]

Reform will come from the next generation of academics; it’s not as easy to change the mentality of people who’ve been in the system forever.

The problem is that the next generation does not have room to push for change.

[2/n]