EPTAsk and answer stupid questions here! - Page 402
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OtherWorld
France17333 Posts
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AbouSV
Germany1278 Posts
On February 18 2016 18:32 SoSexy wrote: Guys, would you do a humanities phd without a salary but paid fees, if you had the chance of doing it by distance? This means that you stay home and have a (paid) yearly trip to the uni. I had to withdraw from a phd because home issues:/ I'd say this is a way too subjective question for someone else than you to answer. Would I have been in your place place I would ask the following questions: -How can I live during this period? -Could I enjoy this time? -How can I use this experience in the future? | ||
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Cascade
Australia5405 Posts
On February 18 2016 18:32 SoSexy wrote: Guys, would you do a humanities phd without a salary but paid fees, if you had the chance of doing it by distance? This means that you stay home and have a (paid) yearly trip to the uni. I had to withdraw from a phd because of home issues, but I would like to do it even if I can't leave home :/ If you feel you want to, I think you should do it. However, and this is a requirement, you HAVE TO have a plan B. A way out. Especially in in humanities, and especially if you are doing it at distance. Things may not work out for you. Your supervisor may turn out to be an asshole. Your project may take a turn for the worse. You may not be able to get a job from your PhD afterwards. I can't stress enough how important it is that you have a way out if those things happen, which is a significant risk. I am not kidding you. The amount of unemployed humanities PhD is staggering. It doesn't have to be a full-time job that just sits and waits for you. But something else that you feel comfortable you can make a living from. In my case, I am doing research as well, which is a very uncertain employement, in the sense that you rarely get a contract for more than one year at a time, and have to fight for your funding against very competitive peers at every turn. I know that if this research thing doesn't work out, I can get a job in programming. Maybe I wouldn't get one immediately, but I am reasonably certain that I could get something within half a year or so, if I decide to (or am forced to) leave research. So yeah, as long as you have a plan B to fall back to in case things don't work out. Go for it! PhDs are great!  If not, maybe making sure you'll have a job in 10 years should be a higher priority. | ||
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SoSexy
Italy3725 Posts
On February 18 2016 18:55 AbouSV wrote: I'd say this is a way too subjective question for someone else than you to answer. Would I have been in your place place I would ask the following questions: -How can I live during this period? -Could I enjoy this time? -How can I use this experience in the future? 1) Not a problem, because my plan would also be to help with my family's business 2) I am pretty sure yes, mainly because it's the thing that interests me the most that could give me a paycheck 3) Having a PhD would feel good for me and open some possible paths in the future - for example, if italian unis offered professor spots, with a PhD I could apply to them | ||
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AbouSV
Germany1278 Posts
But the 'having a job in 10 years' is also subjective (else I would not have undergone my own PhD like I did :p) | ||
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Cascade
Australia5405 Posts
On February 18 2016 19:24 SoSexy wrote: 1) Not a problem, because my plan would also be to help with my family's business 2) I am pretty sure yes, mainly because it's the thing that interests me the most that could give me a paycheck 3) Having a PhD would feel good for me and open some possible paths in the future - for example, if italian unis offered professor spots, with a PhD I could apply to them 3) How many PhD graduate from uni every year? How many new professor spots open up? Go ahead and try for it, but be ready for the (statistically very likely) possibility that you wont get it. | ||
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SoSexy
Italy3725 Posts
On February 18 2016 19:37 Cascade wrote: 3) How many PhD graduate from uni every year? How many new professor spots open up? Go ahead and try for it, but be ready for the (statistically very likely) possibility that you wont get it. Yeah, I'm not going into this starry-eyed and daydreaming. But it is something I like, I might get lucky and in the worse case I'm still in my family business. | ||
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Cascade
Australia5405 Posts
![[image loading]](http://www.ascb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/workforce_infographic_ASCB_COMPASS.jpg) I mean, I don't want to discourage you (although it very much sounds like I realise), and if you want to do it, PhDs are great, and really is anm outstanding learning process. Just you know... make sure you have a safety net in place, and then you can enjoy the jump more. The family business does sound like a viable plan B. | ||
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Acrofales
Spain18487 Posts
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SoSexy
Italy3725 Posts
On February 18 2016 19:47 Acrofales wrote: A PhD in humanities is only really useful if you want to become a university professor in that field. Industry is not looking for humanities phds. Assuming you're still in Italy, unless you are one of the absolute top PhDs, you won't get a job as a professor. Even if you are one of the top phds, you'll still have a hard time getting a stable job. There simply isn't much money for humanities. Well, if you check the curricula of many professors in the philosophy departments in my country, they are not exactly what I call top notch | ||
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Cascade
Australia5405 Posts
On February 18 2016 19:49 SoSexy wrote: Well, if you check the curricula of many professors in the philosophy departments in my country, they are not exactly what I call top notch I hope that doesn't make you think that being top notch will give you a professorship?  It means that what you judge as top notch doesn't match the requirements to get hired. It only means that you don't understand what's needed.  | ||
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Simberto
Germany12072 Posts
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DarkPlasmaBall
United States46668 Posts
On February 18 2016 20:00 Simberto wrote: Also, professors are usually not hired to do teaching, it is just something they do on the side. The reason you hire a professor is to do research (Or whatever the humanities do instead, write books?) to get prestige for the university. This is exactly the reason why I stopped doing my PhD. | ||
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opisska
Poland8852 Posts
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SoSexy
Italy3725 Posts
On February 18 2016 20:04 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: This is exactly the reason why I stopped doing my PhD. Italian university situation is quite different from that though. | ||
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DarkPlasmaBall
United States46668 Posts
On February 18 2016 20:29 SoSexy wrote: Italian university situation is quite different from that though. Just make sure that the PhD is in line with your future career goals/ passions | ||
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Ghostcom
Denmark4783 Posts
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JimmiC
Canada22817 Posts
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SoSexy
Italy3725 Posts
On February 19 2016 01:26 JimmiC wrote: 1. is the family business the mob? 2. Can they pull strings for you? 3. What costs are associated with these strings? unofrtunately, not. In that case I already would be in a full-funded phd in Rome | ||
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JimmiC
Canada22817 Posts
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