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Ah yes the “patriarchy” even though more women graduate college than men these days.

What school were you in? I'm in LA too and just want to make sure I don't end up in the same program.

The more time you spend in the governmental education system, the more chance you have to become a totally brain washed etatist. Therefore people who should be the wisest and most educated in a socitey are the biggest fools most of the time. Never regret that you quit.

Sorry to hear you felt you always had to be working. If a supervisor is working you to death, leave them. I've been to a few universities, and each department has its own culture. You should NOT be working all the time! You must have downtime in order to be healthy, see your family, and to have creative research ideas.

Even though I completed my Ph.D. in Political Science about 32 years ago, my dissertation committee gave me such hard-time. I wanted to quick several times, but I went on and toughed it out. It took me six-years above two masters degrees to acquire the Ph.D. My doctoral committee would sometimes treat me in very unpleasant ways. The majority of individuals who started the program with me dropped out. The Ph.D. program is no joke, but you had to do, what was best for you, because it could have been bad for your health to stay in the program. Take care! The Bowtie Professor!

that is so truth!

I can relate to every single word you said, and now I am even more certain that a PhD isn't a path for me...

Working from 9 to 5 seems like a far away dream for me now. To me it has been more of a 9 to midnight (if not more). Working on weekends became normal. And for what, for publications? Outside of academia nobody cares if you had publications. I discovered the hard way academia is a hard school on normalizing toxicity and be ready to withstand anything no matter if you are tired, sleep deprived, or even very ill. I understand the patriarchy problem, not being able to enjoy even weekends also means not being able to have families (even as a man).

I am thinking of going back at least I can navigate academic politics better than company politics. I been struggling so hard to find a job industry I took an entry-level manufacturing engineering job that paid just a little better than my postdoc. I thought it would be okay because I can quickly work my way up. Nope, I am starting at the very bottom. I been here 7 months and new entry-level engineers with BSs in mechanical engineering are getting assigned to projects. My graduate degrees are in nuclear engineering.

Thank you for sharing. I’m very close to quitting mine

At the end of the day.. so what makes you happy .. good luck

Only losers quit their PhD

Thank you so much for sharing your honest experiences and reflections about this. It is a really hard decision to come to. I am also at this point in my life but I just finished Masters and have decided not to keep going with the PhD. Even during my Masters program I have begun to realise how toxic academia generally is and also how casualized the academic environment has become. It is very competitive as well because everyone has that ‘aspiration’ to be the next person who ‘makes it’ and receives tenure. This means it is often extremely difficult to receive any job permanency, and the temporary contract-based work is not compatible with the lifestyle I want. It’s not secure or stable enough and there just aren’t enough permanent job opportunities. I also love teaching so I have decided to go into teaching secondary school students in my field. I think it’s the right path for me.

I have a PhD in physics. I suggest a career in porn for you. I'll be the director.

Great said, Jordanne! The relationship between science and academia is like the relationship between faith and cult. So, no regrets. I’m sure you thrive now.

I agreed with your statements until the facts in support of patriarchy and misogyny. That simply isn’t true. The main reason why women with children suffer is that they have essentially spent time out of the rat race and typically chose to maximise time off to spend time with their children. This is the same across all employment.

Publishing is not enough. What is more important is getting grants.

Thank you for speaking up

wrong on life. friends and family not more important than science. and to even think about having children is denial of the truth of atheist reality and human ecological overpopulation.

it's a toxic culture

My love modelo women beautifull family mom of my herence genética parent

How have you been doing since quitting?

I’ve been dying to drop out since my first year. I’m in year 4 and still honestly think I’d be really happy if I dropped out. My only issue is that I have no idea what to do instead. I wish I went into computer science back in college or something that would help me work remotely.

Before undertaking the PhD I wonder, did no one (e.g. your supervisor) mention anything about continual research aspects/publishing papers, that might be normally associated were you to remain in a career linked to your PhD subject matter? Were you able to speak to professionals working in this field (post doctoral) about what would be involved? It would be a real shame if you had little/no knowledge of what would be involved. Still, switching to a MSc, a highly regarded qualification, is only the next rung lower than a PhD. I wish you well in your future!

This was super helpful. I've been considering pursuing a PhD program and this helped me reflect on the reasons I would pursing a PhD. I value the same things you do and it was great to hear a different perspective about PhD programs in Clinical Psych. Would love to hear about your experience in the MSW program and after

I'm about to quit my PhD I worked so hard to get into. The culture in academia is too toxic. I am the most productive between my colleagues but I'm just tired to deal with the power dynamics. I'm working class, working and studying at the same time, I can't do that anymore. Your video helped me decide. I may apply again in the future but not now

I appreciate you honesty telling your personal experiences. I started college at 47 and will graduate Spring 2023. I have been thinking about law school or going into research through a PhD program. I love learning and I also have workaholic & perfectionist tendencies which has been exasperated in this environment. I have a love hate relationship with it and doing some deep reflection within myself to understand what I truly value and the kind of life I want to create.

Hope you make more content in the future.

Summary: It's a lie that society is trying to drive down our throats that girls can do STEM, just like boys. Deep down inside, normal women want an Mrs., not a PhD. :discussionclosed: 2:59 PROOF! 9:04 Funny, there are more women getting university degrees than men, and this has been the case for the last 20 years. So, calling academia "misogynistic" shows that this woman is out of touch with Reality. Everything in American universities is geared toward supporting women at the expense of men in the same academic programs.

Hey! Thank you for your video!Do students have to payback a part of theor tuition or something if they quit their PhD or master out?

Why do you want to brag about your failure in PhD? Rather than justifying your failure, why did you further study for PhD in the first place? If the initial objectives have changed, it is normal to abandon the PhD study, as faced by Yahoo founders. The difference is they become billionaires while you are not! Most of the people who further study for PhD have the ability to complete the study. But, they let their inefficient life interfere with their PhD study. I have seen people who have lesser ability to complete their PhD, while more brilliant people fail in their PhD study. To success in anything, the most important thing is FOCUS, FOCUS and FOCUS. Focus is everything. Once you fail, it is hard to know how to improve yourself. Good luck in your future endeavor. By the way, having PhD does not mean you must work in academic. There are many people who have PhD but work in the industry, have family and successful life. It sounds like you are actually studying in a toxic environment and having a not suitable supervisor. Identifying problems you face ASAP is important in order to make corrective actions.

Academia is Toxic

if you can't get a full ride and stipend to do your PhD then it is an expensive hobby

Mommy and Daddy $ run out?

But why start an unfunded PhD program? That’s indication number one that this wasn’t the path for you. Thanks for the geriatric comment-you’re not ageist at all and yet you complain about patriarchy. No one calls it geriatric pregnancy anymore lmfao which makes me think you’re a Republican. 🤦‍♀️ Irony.

Wow, this was just so very relatable and I actually had no idea about the baby penalty that you brought up. I do feel that a lot of your points resonated with me tho. I have been feeling really burntout and just dreading doing PhD work and not really sure about whether or not I wanted to continue. It is still a struggle because there is always the question of, is the alternative (a job) really better for my mental health? and I don't know what exactly I want to do with my life if I just quit. Thanks tho! this video has just really made me think about what do I really want to pursue with my life.

How are you doing now, did you finish your MSW? When you said unfunded clinical psych phd program I felt that. Girl I'm 3.5 years into my program with 3.5 years to go! I did the starting later in life option after having a family. Totally unfunded program single mom to 4 kids. Twice my lab mentors left, no publications to my name. Thought about quitting so many times. Each term that goes by tho I feel more stuck. Guess we'll see.

Omg--I can relate so much. I'm in a Social Psychology PhD program that I have to pay tuition for (no stipend). I hate it and am seriously considering quitting now, after my second semester. This made me feel so affirmed, like it's not just me! Thank you so much!

I’m also in a Clinical Psychology PhD for the first time in my life I feel like I am stuck and don’t know what to do. I feel so out of place. I am not motivated and I figured out I do not even love academia. I am not in a program that gives stipends and there are other factors that don’t seem very convenient. I can honestly say I am not showing my full potential. I cry many nights because I can almost feel this isn’t for me. I don’t know if it’s just imposter syndrome or if I definitely don’t want to do it.

It’s very imortant to talk about this because a lot of phd students are dealing with same problems. I quit my job as a junior researcher after one year and felt much better after that desizion. It requires courage to do what you want and not what people are expecting or thinking is the “dream job”. You should be proud of yourself! “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean it’s good for you”

psychology field is toxic, research they conduct is bs, anyone decent leaves, horrible horrible field, good on you for having higher standards

Just a girl who wants a husband and babies, instead of a career.

Thank you for this

"Academia is misogynistic", if this is what you concluded then you are a stupid person, and that is why you can't get PHD

bringing up gender differences. bs. phd student myself, just say you're not cut for the work and qed lmaoo

So happy to hear your story. My program doesn’t force you to join a lab because I’m not research focused. I struggle with being the only Black person in my cohort and have to deal with subtle racism.

The irony of this experience being a Clinical Psychology PhD program...

Lmao the world is exploding with overpopulation and your children most likely are going to have to deal with the worst effects of climate change but you quit your PhD program to have kids? Why do you even want kids? I really can't understand it. Like, why is so important to pass on your genes? Women without children are the happiest and most successful demographic of the population. Maybe you're indoctrinated into believing you need children. This whole "family values" thing really prevents many women from being more successful than men. You can complain about patriarchy and misogyny all you want when the truth is that you contribute to patriachy by quitting male dominated fields. Don't complain if you're not willing to do anything about it.

I got my PhD already but still decided to leave academia and find a job in industry because only few people can get a tenure job. Job market in academia is extremely horrible. PS: what she said in the video is so true!

I have some questions I was hoping you could respond to: 1) I've oftentimes heard that if you treat your PhD like an 8-5 and stay consistent with your schedule, you'll float along. Can you comment on this? 2) Im also interested in clinical programs and about to become an unpaid RA again WHILE holding a fulltime job. Are all clinical programs like this, or is there anything you recommend for filtering out the more workaholic based programs? Im more interested in conducting therapy/counseling but I still have research interests. 3) I have ADHD and have described myself as the furthest thing from a workaholic. In undergrad (business degree) I didnt try much and sitting down to study was very hard UNLESS it was for my psychology courses. Do you have any comments on this?