Anyone entering graduate school knows that there are various points in the process where you can fail. Oxford was no different. When I entered graduate school, I did not have a clear idea what the process of getting a degree would require. I wanted to be well educated, and the title of “Dr.” would signify that I had achieved that goal. But we find ourselves situated in a world that is not of our making.
I noted your comment that "After passing the Master’s examination at UW, students were offered teaching assistant positions, which were designed to provide income and prepare them to take tenure-track teaching positions." My suspicion is that in today's academia, a Master's will get you very little, certainly not anything related to tenure-track positions.
I don't know how we fix this on either side of the Atlantic. But I urged my students who insisted on applying to grad school, despite my discouragement, to research the job market (and told them where to look) . I don't think any did. Typically, they instead decided to hate me, and went to see Dr. Nicey Nice, who sprinkled glitter on them and promised a wonderful future. He did all of them a great disservice, and of that, I'm now certain.
I noted your comment that "After passing the Master’s examination at UW, students were offered teaching assistant positions, which were designed to provide income and prepare them to take tenure-track teaching positions." My suspicion is that in today's academia, a Master's will get you very little, certainly not anything related to tenure-track positions.
Great story- I tried the DBA route and elected not to finish it but i do know a lot about emergency management
I don't know how we fix this on either side of the Atlantic. But I urged my students who insisted on applying to grad school, despite my discouragement, to research the job market (and told them where to look) . I don't think any did. Typically, they instead decided to hate me, and went to see Dr. Nicey Nice, who sprinkled glitter on them and promised a wonderful future. He did all of them a great disservice, and of that, I'm now certain.