About graduate school

There's a fascinating conversation going on about graduate school and the price (and joys) of becoming an academic. I want to contribute something, but a deadline looms, so I'll just give you a few links.

First, the one that started it all.
Then a more positive spin.
And Earnest English has a bunch of 'em, starting, I think, here.

Let me just say this, when both my older sister and my younger brother were contemplating graduate school, then when my younger brother was contemplating PhD programs, I told them both that if there was anything else they could imagine doing that would make them happy, they should do that instead.

While there are a few things I can imagine doing (writing for Entertainment Weekly -- you know, cuz I'd get to meet Johnny Depp, Michael Chiklis, Kate Winslet, Johnny Depp, and Johnny Depp; some sort of job where I got to shop for AND KEEP shoes; writing for Consumer Reports), this -- teaching writing -- is at the top of the list. Well, it would be if I could meet Johnny Depp while doing it.