In short, the author, Joshua Rothman, starts by writing about how graduate school is a "bad idea in the long run." He does this very interestingly by quoting a hedge fund friend who responded with the following statistics when asked if postgraduate studies in English or Comparative Literature is worth it:
"... focus on the “base rates”: that is, on the numbers that give you a broad statistical picture of outcomes from graduate school in the humanities. What percentage of graduate students end up with tenure? (About one in four.) How much more unhappy are graduate students than other people? (About fifty-four per cent of graduate students report feeling so depressed they have “a hard time functioning,” as opposed to ten per cent of the general population.) If you take a broader view of the profession, it seems like a terrible idea to go to graduate school."
The "depression and hard time functioning" part of his spiel here really reminded me of Duncan and his rant about how things in graduate school get "more and more stale" and how he could not write more than a sentence a day (102).
Although it might seem as if one should be completely put off by the idea of attending graduate school in the humanities here and that Duncan is right, Rothman also brings forth the upsides of attending graduate school based on his own experience, which needless to say, is as, if not more, compelling than the cons of attending.
Granted, the article is not directly related to the theme and content of the class, but I still found it quite an intriguing, lighthearted and somewhat ironic read and thought it worth sharing, especially after seeing the minute connection to The Edible Woman.
P.S. Approach the article with a pinch or two (or even three) of salt and don't use it to analyze your own situation or let it deter you from applying!
P.P.S. I do not think it is a "terrible idea to go to graduate school" at all.
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