Thoughts on Pursuing Graduate School and Beyond

The other day one of my good friends sent me a link to an article in Science titled "The Myth of the Well-Rounded Scientist". Combining this with the Erick Carreira letter that surfaced a few years ago, it's not hard to see why so many people are dissuaded from pursuing a graduate education in certain STEM fields.

I don't really see this culture changing anytime soon. At top graduate institutions, there are always people on the outside who are willing to put in the effort it takes to perform at the highest level. It's somewhat analogous to the supply of illegal immigrants for low-paying jobs: wages are low because there will always be someone who's willing to work for such a low wage. The criticism for these cultures mainly seems to come from those who are not very experienced about the workings of those involved.  Sure we can all sit back and be appalled at the situation, but until those who are in those situations muster enough support for change, nothing will happen. (Because apparently most people think that yelling in the comments section on Yahoo is going to change the world.) As long as we choose to pursue a graduate education and are willing to work as hard as necessary to obtain that coveted Ph.D., graduate school will continue to kick your ass.

This is of course not unique to graduate school in a STEM field. We see young lawyers who are just starting out working non-stop. Of course, they can just be fired if their work isn't up to standard. In the medical field sometimes there are ridiculously long shifts. This dedication to craft is immense in areas where results and productivity are of utmost importance. Until the majority of the population has undergone these experiences and feel like there are not people on the outside willing to step into those shoes, it would be mostly unproductive to scream at other people and be outraged at these things.

Of course, I'm just an undergrad, so what do I know?