--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Within a couple of weeks of starting the…" description: "\"“Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. program, though, she discovered that she'd booked passage on a sinking ship. There aren't any jobs, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/tom-perrotta-3008_ball-player_within-a-couple-of-weeks-of-starting-the_2251945.jpg" --- # Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. program… ![“Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. program, though, she discovered that she'd booked passage on a sinking ship. There aren't any jobs, the other students informed her; the profession's glutted with tenured old men who won't step aside for the next generation. While the university's…” quote by Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/tom-perrotta-3008_ball-player_within-a-couple-of-weeks-of-starting-the_2251945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/tom-perrotta-3008_ball-player_within-a-couple-of-weeks-of-starting-the_2251945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/tom-perrotta-3008_ball-player_within-a-couple-of-weeks-of-starting-the_2251945.jpg) > ““Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. program, though, she discovered that she'd booked passage on a sinking ship. There aren't any jobs, the other students informed her; the profession's glutted with tenured old men who won't step aside for the next generation. While the university's busy exploiting you for cheap labor, you somehow have to produce a boring thesis that no one will read, and find someone willing to publish it as a book. And then, if you're unsually talented and extraordinarily lucky, you just might be able to secure a one-year, nonrenewable appointment teaching remedial composition to football players in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the Internet's booming, and the kids we gave C pluses to are waltzing out of college and getting rich on stock options while we bust our asses for a pathetic stipend that doesn't even cover the rent.”” [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Academic life feels like a sinking ship, with limited jobs, exploitative labor, and a publishing grind, while others profit elsewhere, highlighting systemic frustrations. **In simple terms:** PhD life is tough, exploitative, and unfair. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond academia. Themes career systemic injustice disillusionment Mood critical cynical Type social commentary realistic When to use this quote - grad school - early career - publishing industry - economic disparity Key Concepts academic exploitation publish-or-perish generational conflict Questions to Reflect On - What alternative paths can PhDs pursue? - How can institutions improve graduate conditions? A Different Perspective Not all academic fields are equally oppressive; some find rewarding niches. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ball player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-player/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Boring Thesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring-thesis-5147895/) [Cheap labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheap-labor/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Football players](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-players/) [Getting Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-rich/) [Glutted Tenured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glutted-tenured-5147897/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Next generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-generation/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Pathetic Stipend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathetic-stipend-5147896/) [Profession Glutted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession-glutted-5147898/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Sinking Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-ship/) [Stipend Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stipend-doesn-5147899/) ## Related quotes > [“Capitalism always draws from the cheap labor pool; the profit is greater when the expense is limited”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schwalbe/capitalism-always-draws-from-the-cheap-labor-pool-the-profit-is/) [Michael Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schwalbe/) > [“This is no simple reform. 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It's too late to shape their minds, to teach them values and a sense of compassion. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/stan-and-rudy-are-grown-men-it-s-too-late-to-shape-their-minds-to/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-write-about-kids-growing-up-i-write-a-lot-about-schools-and-parents/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [You could say that this book is ripped from the headlines, but that wouldn't be fair. Bret Anthony Johnston's riveting novel picks up where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/you-could-say-that-this-book-is-ripped-from-the-headlines-but-that/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [The interesting part about the writing process is that you can never see all the way to the end, not if something is happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/the-interesting-part-about-the-writing-process-is-that-you-can-never/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“Something had happened to him ove the past couple of years, something to do with being home with Aaron, sinking into the rhythm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/something-had-happened-to-him-ove-the-past-couple-of-years-something/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“They were good listeners, worldly yet easily shocked, hungry for details, curious and nonjudgmental at the same time, always happy to give advice, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/they-were-good-listeners-worldly-yet-easily-shocked-hungry-for/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I read 'The Great Gatsby' in high school and was hypnotized by the beauty of the sentences and moved by the story about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-read-the-great-gatsby-in-high-school-and-was-hypnotized-by-the/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I no longer believe that just about everything is funny, if viewed from the proper angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-no-longer-believe-that-just-about-everything-is-funny-if-viewed/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [“us, Will had invited his camp counselor buddy, Dylan, and Dylan had brought along his roommate, this annoying kid named Sanjay. I mean, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/us-will-had-invited-his-camp-counselor-buddy-dylan-and-dylan-had/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) [Explore all 141 Tom Perrotta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) ## More Ball player quotes > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [MOST AMAZING FOOTBALL PLAYER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD && IN REAL MADRID](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-amazing-football-player-in-the-entire-world-in-real-madrid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My older brothers were both basketball players so I just grew up around the gym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-lopez/my-older-brothers-were-both-basketball-players-so-i-just-grew-up/) [Brook Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-lopez/) > [I'm a basketball player, so I want to do whatever I've got to do to be on the floor and I'm prepared for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrese-haliburton/i-m-a-basketball-player-so-i-want-to-do-whatever-i-ve-got-to-do-to-be/) [Tyrese Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrese-haliburton/) > [“Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere. 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I've done this my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sale/i-m-a-baseball-player-i-ve-done-this-my-whole-life/) [Chris Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sale/) [Browse all 1,395 Ball player quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-player/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. program, though, she discovered that she'd booked passage on a sinking ship. There aren't any jobs, the other students informed her; the profession's glutted with tenured old men who won't step aside for the next generation. While the university's busy exploiting you for cheap labor, you somehow have to produce a boring thesis that no one will read, and find someone willing to publish it as a book. 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