Colleges in the United States award more than 60,000 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees every year, which has contributed to a glut of PhD holders when compared with the number of jobs that actually require a PhD. The trend is even more pronounced outside the U.S. — almost every Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country had about a 40 percent increase in the number of PhDs granted between 1998 and 2006, compared to about a 20 percent increase in North American countries.
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While working as a graduate assistant, a PhD student in the U.S. can expect to earn about the same as a janitor — and less than one-fifth of what their professors make. This trend follows outside the U.S. as well. PhD students in Canada make about the same as construction workers.
About half of the science and engineering PhDs in the U.S. are granted to international students.
Fewer than 60 percent of PhD students in the U.S. will actually have their PhD 10 years after they first start working toward it.
A PhD may be considered a qualification for teaching, but it is more significantly a process to assess new knowledge to determine if it passes scrutiny. Anyone who is talented enough to uncover worthwhile new knowledge should do so as a matter of civic responsibility. Doing so under the scrutiny of a reputable scrutinizing body will result in it being called a PhD or Doctorate (i.e., teacher).
Discussion Comments
A PhD may be considered a qualification for teaching, but it is more significantly a process to assess new knowledge to determine if it passes scrutiny. Anyone who is talented enough to uncover worthwhile new knowledge should do so as a matter of civic responsibility. Doing so under the scrutiny of a reputable scrutinizing body will result in it being called a PhD or Doctorate (i.e., teacher).
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