on herons and hand-driers

This makes for pretty interesting reading. I have to say I see both sides of the coin presented - on one side, there’s pressure on academics from on high to make the institution some money by attracting foreign students who pay full fees, whilst they may not be the best candidates for the role. THere are probably more people starting PhDs now than there used to be - but is this truly because there are more able people than there used to be, or is it because of a drop in career vision? I’d suspect it’s true that quality has always varied immensely - it’s human nature to try research, but no real way to know if you’re good at it without having a stab in the dark - starting a PhD. In my experience, success is as much about persistence and patience as it is about innate ability.

At the end of the day, the last quote has to stand alone: “You should embark on a PhD for what I describe as “the mountain-climbing reason” - namely because it is there.” Calling yourself doctor and expecting golden handshakes won’t necessarily do.