Many philosophy students decide to attend graduate school, knowing almost nothing about the consequences of this decision, or about what the philosophy profession is actually like. By the time they find out, they have already committed several years of their life, and possibly thousands of dollars, to the undertaking. They then learn that their initial assumptions about the field were unrealistically optimistic. They continue in their chosen path, even though, if they had known the facts at the start, they might have chosen a different career path. I have written the following points to provide a more realistic picture for students, before they make this choice
Philosopher Michael Huemer has a page “Should I go to graduate school in philosophy?” It begins:
This link may have changed my life. Thanks for sharing it. Really, thanks.
You could say much the same about most academic departments. A lot of people go to grad school because school is what they’re good at.