PhDisasters

By NINA MACLAUGHLIN | April 27, 2011

Wherever your thesis or dissertation puts you in the end, the journey can be a trying one, fraught with hurdles, challenges, and possible arrest warrants. Anthropologist Smith offers a sobering warning. "Think about your ideal job," she urges. "If your ideal job doesn't require a PhD, don't do it." ^

Nina MacLaughlin can be reached at nmaclaughlin@gmail.com.

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ARTICLES BY NINA MACLAUGHLIN

FREE AT LAST, THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE'S DAMIEN ECHOLS IS TRYING TO START OVER... IN SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS | December 14, 2012
A year after his release from prison, Echols has chosen to settle in Salem for a reason: he feels a kinship with the history of the place. He knows what it's like to be the object of a witch hunt.

WITH HIS NEW RESTAURANT ALMOST READY, CHEF WILL GILSON MULLS HERITAGE, HUMILITY, AND HIS YEAR IN CULINARY PURGATORY | October 12, 2012
The door to the kitchen is open, and inside, Will Gilson is getting ready.

ON CARPENTRY AND COLLEGE | October 20, 2011
Age 30, I quit the Phoenix and ended up with a job as an apprentice to a carpenter. Sawing, chiseling, hammering, nail-gunning, tiling, sanding, slotting, framing, hauling, measuring, and sweeping are less obvious outcomes of an undergraduate career in the liberal arts. College, in strange and unexpected ways, prepared me for this sort of work. And in others, did not prepare me at all.

PHDISASTERS | April 27, 2011
I knew a man pursuing a PhD in literature. His dissertation had to do with humor as a form of dissent in 20th-century literature. And how enthused he was at first! How passionate and excited.