The average age of a PhD student in the Netherlands is 29, an overwhelming majority are women – and 40% are foreigners, according to new research by careers magazine Intermediair (IM).
The survey indicates that at 13.7%, the unemployment rate among PhD graduates is seven times higher than that of university graduates as a whole. And those who have found a job are not always enthusiastic. Over one-third are negative or neutral about their work.
On the other hand, 45% said they are happy with their salaries. Only 8% said they would have done something completely different and not taken a PhD if they could make their choice again.
Taken from the illustrious DutchNews.nl
I once read an article about these service industry workers in Brazil. I’m not going to look up the citation right now, because frankly I don’t feel like it. I guess if you’re burning up you can e-mail me on the issue and see how fast I get back to you.
Anyway, these service industry people took on the identity of being wealthy. They began to think of themselves as upper crust simply because they came in contact with the upper crust every day. Because they spent all their time around these lavish things which they could never afford, they began to believe they were part of something.
I remembered that this morning because of the class discussion that followed the reading. Some Marxist girl with hairy pits, loose legs, and a pension for indie rock band as#holes that seemed to oddly conflict with her supposed political orientation called it false consciousness. Another student said, “seems crazy to me”. Someone else quoted two lines from another book that we read early in the semester that didn’t quite fit into the discussion. But hey, I guess it gave the appearance he was thinking.
It occurred to me, certainly not then, this morning that we (all of us in academia) are Brazilian shoe salesmen mistaking our time fitting pumps to the feet of the wealthy for being wealthy ourselves. The education industry sells (at least some of us) the idea of status and mobility, but is this a reality? Not really. You will never really escape you’re social class, you’ll only at best end up teaching them. Are overseers better off than slaves? Are prison guards really free?
I guess they can quit. Where as you’re stuck with your debt and the isolation that is a result of your degree. Now everyone thinks you’re a pretentious as#hole, but you still have to see them everyday. You still have to teach them. You’ve gone far Joe College (or Jane College respectively)
I think maybe I should spend time here exploring the various lures of graduate degrees. I should talk about Status, Helping Others, Bildung (who read that sh#t huh? huh? 
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