It is hard to ignore the dismal outlook that everyone seems to be adopting about getting a PhD. Specifically, a PhD in political science. Case in point: 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School (later rebutted in the Inside Higher Ed blog) and the YouTube video that has been making political science doctoral students cry since 2010.
The video makes some valid points. The social networking and advertising website StumbleUpon has less than 200 people interested in the category of politics and news. Compare this to thousands of users interested in movies and television. Political science academics toil away the best years of their lives only to publish in journals a very small percentage of the population will care about or understand. Part of the reason for the phenomenon is explained here.
If you haven't been following the news about the job prospects of political science PhD's here's a summary: There are none. One girl summed this up when she said, "Trying to get a job in foreign policy is as easy as breaking into Hollywood." If you didn't get into one of the top PhD programs on a fellowship and a stipend for all five years, don't bother.
Let's stop with the doomsday commentary. But let's be realistic. Most of us will not be diplomats, tenured political science professors, or Daniel W. Drezner. At least he has some useful advice in his blog post on the Foreign Policy website. Enjoy!
If you set your goal to change the world, you will most likely be dissapointed. Instead set your goals to change someone's world, you will be more successful and happy.
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