Quote:
As furyshade indicated, if making money is an important thing for you, then going into academia might not be the right thing.
It's not the money that is important to me. I knew when I chose psychology that I would never be rich. I could live comfortably off of like 60 or 70k. I would much rather do something I enjoy, and have the lifestyle that is mentioned above. No boss, freedom to pursue my own interests, etc.
What has me irked is finding out that the competition is so stiff and so much work is expected. It's not that I'm lazy. I don't mind putting effort into something I love. But if poincaraux's post is accurate, and I am going to have to put in 65 hours a week for my first few years, then I start to wonder if this is really the right thing. I'm willing to sacrifice a larger salary for a job I enjoy. But I don't think I could enjoy doing anything 65 hours a week.
On the other hand, BP mentions that it's possible to get tenure working only 20 hours a week. Is that just because psych is less intensive than other sciences, like the one poincaraux refers to? Before this thread, I was thinking it would take 30 or 40 hours and being a prof would be a great job.
Even if the job only requires 20 hours a week, though, that still leaves the fact that I'd have to beat out >100 other applicants. I got the feeling that that number was stable over time, but smudgie, you suggest that it is a result of the current economy. If the economy were better, would that number maybe be more around 60, or would it still be over 100? Another thing I'm wondering is, out of those 120, how many are coming from top 10 or top 15 programs? Assuming I make it into one, that would have to put me towards the top of the list, right?
Even now that I know how difficult the market is after grad school, I can't really think of any better opportunities. I picture it being difficult work and very busy, but I would get to live in a really nice place and I think I would enjoy the work for the most part. BP, you suggest that it is foolish for students to enter their programs without any real plan, just because they "love" it, because the paltry job opportunities are not worth the work you put into it. But my alternative, with just a BS Psych degree would be getting a job that requires much less work, but also has a much lower ceiling and is much less enjoyable.
I suppose most students that you see go in with that mindset. How is it flawed?