My Ph.D. took a long time—and there’s no shame in that

A lot of people in my cohort and the one behind mine took the full 10 years to finish their PhD. Several on this forum have used time to complete a PhD as an insult. It shows ignorance and a detachment from reality. Not everyone is in a 3-year, online, non-competitive program with no research requirements beyond the capstone or dissertation. When the median time to complete a PhD in various humanities or social science fields is 6, 7, or 8 years, that means that half the students take longer than 6, 7, or 8 years.

 

My dad completed his PhD in two years at age 25 from LSE. Then he lost one tenure determination then another then took a modest position in policy. The two-year wonder PhD ultimately constituted peaking too soon.

 

One person ended up being a truck driver. Individuals have different goals and take pride in different things, which is perfectly fine. For some, a degree at any level is just for self-edification; they have no intention of using the degree for employment purposes. Some might have had a goal of becoming a professor or full-time researcher, but they changed their mind at some point. Some only want a graduate degree so they can earn extra money adjuncting, so finishing quickly is not a priority.

In my program, most of the early cohorts had full-time jobs while attending classes on campus. This led to a higher dropout rate. I'm sure if they had decent online options back then, they would have applied to those instead. My program has since changed their focus to full-time students who will work part-time in an assistantship throughout the entirety of the program.

 

humor!

Excuses are monuments of nothingness. They build bridges to nowhere. Those who use these tools of incompetence are masters of nothing themselves!

As Steve L would say, "bahahaha"

 

And, Steve had many excuses for being a truck driver, which is a job that doesn't even require a high school diploma.

 

Excuses or justifications, personally, I don't care. As long as people are happy, I am happy for them. So, no shade to anyone who hasn't PhinisheD in the expected timeframe, who chose to do a job they are overqualified for, who chose a non-competitive online program, or any other decisions you have made that others don't understand. You owe no one an explanation (excuse, justification, or otherwise).