PhDs

I've been spending time this week researching grad schools. This is exciting and terrifying. It means that I have to think about the rest of my life. I'm getting married, and going to grad school. That's the exciting part. The scary part is when I graduate with a doctorate and have to start looking for a job which I may not ever get.

I want to get a doctorate in musicology, and teach at a university. But that may not ever happen. I'll still go get a PhD, but that certainly doesn't guarantee that I will ever be able to teach at a university. There are so many people and so few jobs. Music is a popular field, and I understand that. But from everything that well-meaning professors have told me, the competition is downright cutthroat. The prospects are grim, to say the least. And I dislike that I'm less worried about getting into a good program, and more worried about being able to actually put my degree to good use.

Musicology is more exciting to me than just about anything in the world. I know that this is what I need to do. I know that I'm good at it. I know that I wouldn't be nearly as happy doing anything else. But when I hear from a tenth professor that it took him ten years to find a tenure-track position, it starts to get discouraging. What do I do when I hear horror stories from everyone who hears about my grad school plans? When a professor tells me, "Don't do it! It's not worth it!"? Not get a doctorate because it might not pay off? Disregard their advice and do it anyway?