[ SECRET POST #2392 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2392 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 064 secrets from Secret Submission Post #342.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

06. http://i.imgur.com/gobovoR.jpg?2

[tree_and_leaf]

Don't worry, OP, I think a lot of people have been there! And there is life after the Ph.D....

[sootyowl]

Don't worry, you will still have lots of time to find a partner after your PH.D. Or you might even find one while working towards it. You never know!

[transcriptanon]

[Picture is a comparison chart of Marriage vs The Ph.D. by Jorge Cham

Marriage:

Typical length: 7.5 years
Begins with: A proposal
Culminates in a ceremony where you walk down an aisle dressed in a gown: YES
Usually entered into by: Foolish young people in love
50% end in: Bitter divorce
Involves exchange of: Vows

Ph.D.:

Typical length: 7 years
Begins with: A thesis proposal
Culminates in a ceremony where you walk down an aisle dressed in a gown: YES
Usually entered into by: Foolish young people without a job
50% end in: Bitter remorse
Involves exchange of: Know-how]

Fandom friends are the only thing keeping me going to finish my PhD especially the days when I wish I had a partner. I am doing a PhD. This [comparison chart] is on my wall because it's sad but funny.

Notes

[transcriptanon]

Ph.D. means "Doctor of Philosophy". It's better known as "Doctorate".

From Wikipedia:

"In the context of academic degrees, the term "philosophy" does not refer solely to the field of philosophy, but is used in a broader sense in accordance with its original Greek meaning, which is "love of wisdom". In most of Europe, all fields other than theology, law and medicine were traditionally known as philosophy, and in Germany and elsewhere in Europe the basic faculty of (liberal) arts was known as the faculty of philosophy."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy

So it basically means that "holy shit you really like this subject so much you became a Doctor specializing in it, wow".

[(Anonymous)]

You added the fandom friends thing just to not get tossed in the bottom pile. This is not even remotely fandom related.

[(Anonymous)]

It IS remotely related since it mentioned "fandom friends". You said it yourself. Chill out, and scroll on by.

[diet_poison]

y u so mad?

[(Anonymous)]

Why are you so invested in policing what's fandom?

Piled Higher and Deeper could be considered fandom in and of itself.

[(Anonymous)]

yep

[forgottenjester]

Well that was depressing.

I'm glad you got people to help keep you going, OP. Good luck and well wishes to your future.

You're lucky then.

[chardmonster]

Pretty much the only thing I have to keep me going is the potential shame of having failed to finish (if I don't get it it will always be assumed I wasn't smart enough or got lazy, not that my interests changed or I realized I didn't want an academic job) and the knowledge that spending my twenties in graduate school only looks good to people who want to hire academics.

I wish I had done anything else.

Re: You're lucky then.

[(Anonymous)]

It's never too late to jump out. I quit my Ph.D. track when I came to the conclusion that I hated academic circles, had no real interest in my field of study, and had ended up doing the Ph.D. only because no other jobs were available back then (and the only thing I had left was writing my dissertation). That was years ago, and I've never regretted it or cared what other people have assumed.

So many other people are doing their Ph.D's just because there's nothing else available, that the whole thing has suffered from devaluation. If anything, the reaction from your fellow students might be "hey, you managed to get a real job, go you".

Re: You're lucky then.

[chardmonster]

Honestly, it isn't my fellow students I don't want to let down. It's my family, then anyone who'd ever ask what I've been doing the past few years. Add to it the fact that I'm ABD, so it really WOULD look like I failed to finish a dissertation rather than just stopped liking it.

If I manage to finish my dissertation, then get a good job doing something else, family just figures I changed my mind. The job market is tough and all that. I get a good job and don't finish my dissertation? Then I probably got lazy, but at least I was proactive about it. If I quit my program without a good job or an acceptance into another kind of grad program? Then I'm just lazy. They'll always see me as the kid who got everything on a silver platter and then failed because it got hard.

I realize you'll likely say "fuck them, they don't matter," but they do. I love them and they've helped me out a lot. They also tend not to change their opinions much once made. I've made great strides since high school but they still see me as a messed up teenager. This is probably one of the only ways I can really make them proud in a lasting way--they will always love me, and they'll always say they're proud of me on account of that love, but I'd like them to be actually proud of me. They know I was always good at school because school comes easy to me. Finishing my phD would be an actual accomplishment.

Pretty much my only out without looking lazy is law school. I've actually been considering that on my own without pressure but that's a whole lot of debt for not much better job prospects.

Re: You're lucky then.

[(Anonymous)]

Pretty much my only out without looking lazy is law school. I've actually been considering that on my own without pressure but that's a whole lot of debt for not much better job prospects.

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT even think about going to law school unless you realio trulio want to become a lawyer and do lawyery things. You'd be better off finishing your PhD in terms of job security.

[diet_poison]

That's...really sad. Wow.

Best of luck in pursuing your degree, OP, and I hope you find something fulfilling during the next phase of your life :)