tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post177056998898539177..comments2024-03-24T21:12:27.165-07:00Comments on 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School: 78. It takes a toll on your health.100 Reasonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13655155303350793785noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-81439985113512017082014-07-01T11:57:31.598-07:002014-07-01T11:57:31.598-07:00"The "cognitive elites" are defined..."The "cognitive elites" are defined as much by their habits as by their jobs. They read the New Yorker and the New York Times, listen to NPR..."<br /><br />These are not 'cognitive elites' - they're liberals. The two have very little to do with each other, except that liberals like to define themselves 'by virtue of their beliefs' as cognitive elites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-58711365715306019042014-07-01T11:55:05.337-07:002014-07-01T11:55:05.337-07:00Doesn't it rather depend on the job, and the n...Doesn't it rather depend on the job, and the number of RIFs the company has had recently?<br /><br />I disagree wholeheartedly with the idea that 'a regular job' keeps you physically fit, or is linear, or that it gives you any kind of feeling of accomplishment. Some might. Most don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-57659095744890924962014-07-01T11:51:38.117-07:002014-07-01T11:51:38.117-07:00Again, this is 'faux prole,' a misguided a...Again, this is 'faux prole,' a misguided attempt to look cool and rebellious while self-identifying with the proletariat. See also: 'hipster Marxist,' and 'big bad Baudrillard.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-52531501110780229102014-07-01T11:47:10.806-07:002014-07-01T11:47:10.806-07:00It's 'faux prole.'It's 'faux prole.' Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-60549973009740068532014-03-15T22:46:17.774-07:002014-03-15T22:46:17.774-07:00JML, do you actually believe, with all the varying...JML, do you actually believe, with all the varying implementations of diction and style, that this blog has been written by only 1 person? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-60710209187757934992013-09-11T19:57:44.449-07:002013-09-11T19:57:44.449-07:00For those who say a regular job is just as bad on ...For those who say a regular job is just as bad on one's physical health that grad school, I couldn't disagree more. I've done both, and the 9 to 5, even 3 to 11 shifts are not nearly as bad on one's health (I worked in a pizza restaurant too, which is high-stress). At the end of the day, though, you get to go home, put your hat up, play tennis, make love, whatever. You might be physically exhausted but at least it keeps you active, you are interacting with co-workers, your job is usually linear (nothing is as non-linear as grad school), and you feel like you're contributing to society. In grad school it's the complete inverse. My body has completely atrophied, my service speed has gone down by about 15 miles per hour, and I have little desire to exercise or sleep most of the time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-57353219313532792822013-03-03T13:41:07.069-08:002013-03-03T13:41:07.069-08:00@PhD Accounting
This is faulty reasoning, and your...@PhD Accounting<br />This is faulty reasoning, and your premise is flawed. Let me know if I'm misunderstanding you, but I think what you are trying to say here is that "it takes a toll on your health" applies to graduate school and the real world equally. If so, you are overgeneralizing. There are non-academic entry-level options available to many college graduates for which 1) they are compensated more fairly for their work (i.e. at all) and 2) they have access to decent healthcare. Both of these things are intricately tied to good health, and I am not aware of a single graduate program that provides a salary or insurance policy comparable to, say, a hospital/ oil company/ corporate office/ etc. Additionally, non-academics often enjoy a more structured work schedule, which is conducive to better health because one can make plans to go to the gym at specific and consistent times rather than be at the mercy of exams and arbitrary deadlines that cut into personal time.<br /><br />I'd also like to address the "bus pass" analogy with another analogy:<br /><br />Suppose there are ten glasses of water on a table. Some unknown number of the ten have been poisoned. Say that I know (from personal experience) that the glass on the far right is poisoned and someone tries to drink from it. Should I:<br /><br />1. Say something, giving them the CHANCE to select an untainted glass.<br /><br />2. Say nothing, thinking they will probably just pick a poisoned one anyway.<br /><br />The answer, to me, is pretty obvious.<br /><br />I think that is what this blog is doing -- saying something. Sure, the economy sucks right now, but people in graduate programs who had the option of doing anything else are almost universally worse off, at least in the short term. #78 makes a valid point. You may end up being miserable outside the ivory tower as well, but there are certainly healthier ways to spend your twenties, let alone any other stage of one's life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-32641435697439419302012-07-31T12:15:14.993-07:002012-07-31T12:15:14.993-07:00Just go work out and dont worry about that. Workin...Just go work out and dont worry about that. Working out will relieve stress and getting past that concern...well..there goes a little more stress down the drain. Win win for your healthLauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-51937917771207472502012-07-06T14:10:39.030-07:002012-07-06T14:10:39.030-07:00What people need to understand is that the "c...What people need to understand is that the "culture" of grad school is different than any industrial/business job I can think of. Those of us in the humanities should not be surprised when I say that grad students tend to be cynical, bordering on nihilistic. Unhealthy behaviors are reinforced daily when grads talk about how they never get any sleep, eat ramen all the time, etc. -- people complain about it, but they treat it as just what you have to get used to, like being a sleep-deprived, miserable cynic comes with the territory. If anyone even talks about how they get 8 hours of sleep every night, it's like they're a heretic. There's a culture of guilt over taking care of yourself: being miserable and sleep-deprived is a sign of academic determination, and going out of your way to take care of yourself means that you're not doing as much work as you should be.<br /><br />As for alcoholism, my department has an interesting dynamic. We have a bunch of Eastern Europeans who drink heavily, but we also have a bunch of Mormons who don't drink at all. Fascinating!<br /><br />I'm fortunate in that I happen to have started to give a crap about my health a couple of years ago, so early on in grad school I looked for ways to make sure I was eating and sleeping well. My university has a world-class gym and health center on campus. Grads in our department also pay a negligible amount for health insurance premiums each month, and the insurance plan is fantastic. <br /><br />However, even after I realized how great the insurance plan was, I soon found out how difficult it was to take advantage of it. Between teaching and taking my own classes, office hours, and team meetings, I often put off going. I was working so much that I was lucky to get an hour of uninterrupted time to relax at the end of each night, which I made sure to get even if it meant not doing some part of my homework.<br /><br />Is free counseling much of a job perk if you have to take advantage of it in order to stave off the stress-induced misery of your job?<br /><br />Someone asked why grad students always dress like slobs when teaching. I was one of those naive optimists who tried dressing "professionally" when I taught, but that's a habit that is beaten out of you after a few months, tops. It won't make your students respect you any more, and no one in your department notices, either, so why bother if you're not feeling like it? Grad students are a miserable, overworked bunch, so it's understandable if you see one teaching a class without having shaved for a few weeks, hah.Russkiy Aspirantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-33447175290977677092012-04-11T23:12:16.972-07:002012-04-11T23:12:16.972-07:00Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up ...Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.Vancouver Chiropractorhttp://www.performancehealthgroup.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-35302275850376998002012-04-07T19:55:29.609-07:002012-04-07T19:55:29.609-07:00I don’t have an GA position, and I have to work tw...I don’t have an GA position, and I have to work two different jobs. Staying up later is always one of my bad habits, as I can't write anything during the daytime. Normally, I sleep about 6 hours in the weekdays and eat fast food, so I gained 10 pounds this year!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-60190499212990421302012-04-02T13:36:48.481-07:002012-04-02T13:36:48.481-07:00Yeah - I don't think some of the posters here ...Yeah - I don't think some of the posters here that have a high stipend and immense flexibility are appreciating the factor of external demands - such as professors. When i say demands, I mean emotional and psychological demands that some take from you as a student. I've seen a professor shower her male students with fellowships (whether they deserved it or not) while she held a much higher standard to her female students. That can also be said of how some professors treat students of color etc. I've seen people get shut down in class (even when they had an excellent point) - and this most definitely has had an adverse effect mentally and emotionally for many of those students.This all affects our physical, mental, and emotional being, which in turn affect how we are able to operate in our daily lives - including cooking or going to the gym. It's tragic really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-82153101879371089612012-03-13T20:52:09.369-07:002012-03-13T20:52:09.369-07:00Oh god yes, the guilt I felt every time I did some...Oh god yes, the guilt I felt every time I did something that wasn't directly related to polishing off my enormous reading list was extreme. I stopped being able to have fun and became very depressed and anxious.<br /><br />Go to the gym? But then I'm not studying. What am I going to tell my professor, that I didn't get the work done because I was doing something else? Something for me? And face all the "she just doesn't have what it takes ..." shaming, pity stares from the other grad students, being dropped from the prof's good graces, etc.?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-66591000230281874042012-03-13T20:47:04.324-07:002012-03-13T20:47:04.324-07:00Weekends? WTF are weekends?
I learned to think of...Weekends? WTF are weekends?<br /><br />I learned to think of summer break as my saved-up weekends, because I sure as hell never got a weekend in grad school.<br /><br />Now I'm a public school teacher. I teach all day, work all night and in the wee hours in the morning, and work on weekends. Good thing I get summers off - just like in grad school, they're my stored-up weekends. Literally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-9549199133141292902012-03-13T20:44:41.623-07:002012-03-13T20:44:41.623-07:00At my school the docs only checked for strep throa...At my school the docs only checked for strep throat. Since I never had strep throat, they would shrug and tell me to drink lots of fluids.<br /><br />Turned out I had fungal sinusitis complicated with bronchitis and needed a nebulization treatment at the local hospital. Driving myself there while blue from lack of oxygen was lots of fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-6182494191540494512012-03-13T20:41:15.677-07:002012-03-13T20:41:15.677-07:00I was completely broke (no job for six years; grad...I was completely broke (no job for six years; grading paid $300/sem.), lived 2 hours from my school, and during comps I slept 4 hours a night and ate fast food because I had a huge reading list. I gained 70 pounds and developed an anxiety disorder.<br /><br />I think the people who stay healthy in grad school were healthy to begin with and grew up eating healthy foods. Not all of us grow up eating healthy foods. Some of us grow up eating out of charity baskets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-88728758713055520802012-02-29T11:43:22.472-08:002012-02-29T11:43:22.472-08:00I sure noticed this in grad school when students h...I sure noticed this in grad school when students hit about the 2nd year of doctoral studies. All of a sudden, the 30-something guy in sneakers and t-shirts with silly slogans on the front started wearing a button down dress shirt and leather shoes. I barely recognize many former colleagues people on their facebook photos. <br /><br />Of course, many of these "new" clothes will still be worn 20 years later after they become professors and forget what fashion is.Dr.Who?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-17941949384519334692012-02-28T15:14:55.836-08:002012-02-28T15:14:55.836-08:00I find it funny how this all changes when students...I find it funny how this all changes when students go on the job hunt. They buy an interview suit, and maybe a couple of business casual outfits for wearing during the day for campus interviews. Suddenly they realize how much better they look/feel when they're wearing professional clothes that fit, and when they come back to campus after their interview, they're wearing slacks and button-downs or pencil skirts and pumps all the time, and their hair is clean. <br /><br />Their little friends start to dress better too, and there's this nice ripple out effect. It reminds me of when people started dressing better in junior & senior years of high school, to look more adult. The only difference is that grad students only start to do this dressing more adult thing at 34.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-42695841859443650252012-02-27T02:35:07.547-08:002012-02-27T02:35:07.547-08:00I just learned about your blog from a comment post...I just learned about your blog from a comment posted to an NPR story. It seems like it's in the same ballpark as my own blog (one skeptical of the value of higher education), so I added it to one of my blogroll lists. I look forward to browsing over your archive of posts and comments in the near future.<br /><br />If you guys think that earning a PhD. is bad, wait until you learn about the "Scarlet JD" degree and the Law School Scam. Visit my blog to learn more about the sordid legal profession and what's been happening to law school graduates for decades: http://FlusterCucked.blogspot.comFrank the Underemployed Professionalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00461791753886733576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-55214212748070438922012-02-24T12:44:48.693-08:002012-02-24T12:44:48.693-08:00OT: Why are grad students so dumpy? OK, I get that...OT: Why are grad students so dumpy? OK, I get that they're poor but anybody can buy decent clothes. They just don't. No kidding about the tattoos. You forgot piercings. When did guys stop shaving? What's up with the almost-beards? They look like they just got out of bed. I took a class from a guy who had bedhead every single day. Some of them look like they make an effort to look nice but half the time their clothes ddon't fit. I feel sorry for them. Teh rest of them make me mad. I'm paying how much to sit there and listen to you drone on and on, and the best you can do is show up in a t-shirt and sandals? Is that how much effort you put into the rest of your job, like grading my work?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-76141387514031242282012-02-23T13:04:48.957-08:002012-02-23T13:04:48.957-08:00Someone once applied for a TT job in our dept who ...Someone once applied for a TT job in our dept who had a lot of tattoos, including one above the neckline. I think the Committee made up their mind not to hire as soon as they saw the candidate in person.Dr.Who?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-42238286273852745112012-02-23T11:36:50.760-08:002012-02-23T11:36:50.760-08:00One of the T.A.'s at my school has a tat so bi...One of the T.A.'s at my school has a tat so big that her clothes don't cover it. I can't believe that they let her teach like that, it looks so unprofessional. Makes it kind of hard to take her seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-11717802574221803342012-02-23T11:24:38.779-08:002012-02-23T11:24:38.779-08:00Quit reading this blog or quit grad school? They&#...Quit reading this blog or quit grad school? They're both depressing, but at least the blog won't steal years of your life.anonobotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-22130232392438213452012-02-22T08:00:01.878-08:002012-02-22T08:00:01.878-08:00Since grad students have low income, get medicaid....Since grad students have low income, get medicaid. Better than most graduate student insurance plans anyway.PhD Accountingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4276812992911002375.post-8436230284357969592012-02-21T20:34:09.223-08:002012-02-21T20:34:09.223-08:00Why can't I just quit this fucking thing?Why can't I just quit this fucking thing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com