Half of Ph.D. students are depressed, new study says
Published at | Updated at
While it’s easy to think that Ph.D. students have it pretty good — after all, people with doctoral degrees are likely to earn an average of $3.4 million throughout their professional life — recent research indicates that Ph.D. students view their own futures with a bleak eye.
In fact, 47 percent of enrolled Ph.D. students admitted feeling depressed, according to a survey from UC Berkeley. The majority of respondents cited gloomy job prospects as the reason for their depression. The study also found that 37 percent of master’s degree students claimed depression.
The survey, which is part of UC Berkeley’s “Graduate Student Happiness and Well-Being Report,” published once each decade, could “spark a wider discussion on the value of graduate education in America,” according to CNN Money.
Although the national unemployment rate for persons with a Ph.D. is 2.1 percent, according to the National Science Foundation, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, today’s post-graduate students are pessimistic about their chances for good work in the future.
“The largest source of anxiety for me is my job outlook,” said one anonymous respondent. “It is tremendously uncertain and thus fear-inducing.”
The value of a post-graduate education has been widely debated, especially of late, and many experts cite time and money as two of the biggest reasons today’s students shouldn’t pursue a doctoral degree.
According to CBS News, the average student takes 8.2 years to complete a Ph.D. program, and is 33 years old by the time that diploma is earned. Those extra years are spent accumulating debt, while other Americans with bachelor’s degrees are already well into their vocation.
Speaking of debt, nearly 40 percent of Ph.D. students borrow money to pay for school, and the average graduate owes a whopping $37,000 on average once school is finished.
While a doctorate certainly isn’t for everyone, there is convincing evidence that a four-year college degree has never been more important, reported the Deseret News National’s JJ Feinauer.
According to statistics from the Economic Policy Institute, the pay gap between those who’ve graduated from college and those who haven’t has never been greater. In fact, Americans with a bachelor’s degree make 98 percent more per hour than people who haven’t finished college.
“Yes, college is worth it, and it’s not even close,” wrote New York Times columnist David Leonhardt in 2014. “For all the struggles that many young college graduates face, a four-year degree has probably never been more valuable.”
Email: tstahle@deseretdigital.com Twitter: @tstahle15
