Since I broke the Claudine Gay / Harvard story, life has been a bit crazy. Every newspaper in the world has covered it. Most recently, today the Washington Post confirms that Claudine Gay committed plagiarism. After tweeting this, I received a few offers to do a PhD:
just make sure to weight heavily your prior that you are very disagreeable and nonconformist (i don't know what that means for a mentor, but that should be first and foremost)
I agree with Kramer. You will likely spend your time butting heads with the liars you will be surrounded by. While there are some good ones, academia is filled with people attracted to the Ivory Tower life; teaching, publishing and mostly The Sabatical.
I think a PhD only makes sense if you want to be a professor.
MAYBE if it's an economically pointless topic and academia has a monopoly on funding for it.
Otherwise it's an opportunity cost and a waste of time. I recently dropped out of a computer science PhD program at a relatively high ranking university (top 10 in the US for CS PhDs).
I don't want to be a professor, I don't like computer science research papers, and academia definitely doesn't have a monopoly on funding for computer science research, especially anything I would be interested in doing (basically machine learning, which is currently blooming and any new advancement is surely worth immediate money and therefore is a business idea and not a thesis).
Is public policy "research" even a thing? Isn't your substack better than public policy research journals? Do you want to be a public policy professor?
Being 80, and still alive after four military operations, all you will receive is agitprop. Just print a Certificate out, hang it like the last 20 years of garbage in garbage out. Check to make sure your Ego is not driving your car, similar to the instincts derived from having eyewitness accounts.
Your lifes work, is not going to be changed with a PhD. Your lifes work, is a special skill in removing "grifters" from corrupt towers of Babel.
Keep tabs on your mental health. Get a therapist or a wife first.
The only useful career in which you earn more with a PhD than without is professor. As you know, that is now hard to get into as a white male. In Econ, your PhD has to be from a Top5 school just so you get a chance. Don't go into interdisciplinary or weird research, too. Just support the main paradigm of the day in your field. Interdisciplinary people are unemployable in academia. All positions want a certain profile and if your research is half this, half that, then you will always lose out to the people who are 100% this.
Caveat: I don't know nuthin' about nuthin' except I spotted you as a star early on. That said:
Public Policy sounds like a nice broad field where your talents could have room enough to roam.
See if you get good tips/any offers via Substack networking. It's good to be actively wanted rather than having to make earnest hopeful faces at people who like having power.
And--you're needed in academia if the tide will ever start turning towards common sense again. Don't listen to no discouraging voices.
Apply to GMU. Good for econ and public policy, really both at the same time. That's where I got my PhD, and after having interviewed with a number of schools it was the only one I ended up applying to.
Their program is rather different than that of other schools, however, particularly in terms of finding money for it. If you have questions, drop me a line.
Long after public policy ceases to exist there will still be an economy. I know Bryan Caplan has a PhD in economics and so does Walter Block. Both have good 'stacks
Depending on the program, the methods and research design training you can receive while earning a PhD will prove useful for your professional career. Odds of getting a good academic job are long, but PhD research skilz are valuable in myriad jobs. A public policy degree from Chicago, UM, a couple of others are worth the time/energy, otherwise stick with Econ. Do not allow yourself to fall into the time suck trap. 5 yrs, no more.
Best of luck Chris - your work is very very good. I appreciate having run across you. Pursue your desires no matter what. I only ask you not forget us little guys.
If available, I would still pursue an Econ PhD (or something equivalent like Business Econ, Finance, etc.) assuming that the rank of school / program is the same. It will give you more options after graduation in both the private sector and public/think tank sector.
Regardless whether you do a PhD in Econ or Public Policy (or neither), continue writing/reporting on your substack about fraud, dishonesty, inconsistency, and bullying in academia. This will continue pay off massive dividends. Wouldn't be surprised if someone like Peter Thiel occasionally reads your work.
good luck!
just make sure to weight heavily your prior that you are very disagreeable and nonconformist (i don't know what that means for a mentor, but that should be first and foremost)
A very good point. There's a reason I am not longer teaching.
Academia = fake and gay, they will waste your time and take away your moat
I agree with Kramer. You will likely spend your time butting heads with the liars you will be surrounded by. While there are some good ones, academia is filled with people attracted to the Ivory Tower life; teaching, publishing and mostly The Sabatical.
I agree. Spending time and money on public policy would be a regression for you. Your already there. Let Eric Hoffer be your guide.
I really do think academia is dying.
I think a PhD only makes sense if you want to be a professor.
MAYBE if it's an economically pointless topic and academia has a monopoly on funding for it.
Otherwise it's an opportunity cost and a waste of time. I recently dropped out of a computer science PhD program at a relatively high ranking university (top 10 in the US for CS PhDs).
I don't want to be a professor, I don't like computer science research papers, and academia definitely doesn't have a monopoly on funding for computer science research, especially anything I would be interested in doing (basically machine learning, which is currently blooming and any new advancement is surely worth immediate money and therefore is a business idea and not a thesis).
Is public policy "research" even a thing? Isn't your substack better than public policy research journals? Do you want to be a public policy professor?
Also see this: https://www.josephbronski.com/p/want-to-be-rich-drop-out-of-school
Just my 2 cents
Do a PhD in whistleblowing and just rewrite your old Substacks as your thesis.
If anyone is deserving of this opportunity, it's you Chris. 👍🏻
Being 80, and still alive after four military operations, all you will receive is agitprop. Just print a Certificate out, hang it like the last 20 years of garbage in garbage out. Check to make sure your Ego is not driving your car, similar to the instincts derived from having eyewitness accounts.
Your lifes work, is not going to be changed with a PhD. Your lifes work, is a special skill in removing "grifters" from corrupt towers of Babel.
Keep tabs on your mental health. Get a therapist or a wife first.
The only useful career in which you earn more with a PhD than without is professor. As you know, that is now hard to get into as a white male. In Econ, your PhD has to be from a Top5 school just so you get a chance. Don't go into interdisciplinary or weird research, too. Just support the main paradigm of the day in your field. Interdisciplinary people are unemployable in academia. All positions want a certain profile and if your research is half this, half that, then you will always lose out to the people who are 100% this.
Don't do it fam. Your work is more interesting than most PhD's work.
Caveat: I don't know nuthin' about nuthin' except I spotted you as a star early on. That said:
Public Policy sounds like a nice broad field where your talents could have room enough to roam.
See if you get good tips/any offers via Substack networking. It's good to be actively wanted rather than having to make earnest hopeful faces at people who like having power.
And--you're needed in academia if the tide will ever start turning towards common sense again. Don't listen to no discouraging voices.
Apply to GMU. Good for econ and public policy, really both at the same time. That's where I got my PhD, and after having interviewed with a number of schools it was the only one I ended up applying to.
Their program is rather different than that of other schools, however, particularly in terms of finding money for it. If you have questions, drop me a line.
I think you're better off continuing to write on Substack, but If you must keep this joke firmly in mind:
Q: Why are academic politics so vicious?
A: Because the stakes are so small.
> Because the stakes are so small.
Except they're not. Today's academic consensus is today is tomorrow's imposed ideology.
Long after public policy ceases to exist there will still be an economy. I know Bryan Caplan has a PhD in economics and so does Walter Block. Both have good 'stacks
Depending on the program, the methods and research design training you can receive while earning a PhD will prove useful for your professional career. Odds of getting a good academic job are long, but PhD research skilz are valuable in myriad jobs. A public policy degree from Chicago, UM, a couple of others are worth the time/energy, otherwise stick with Econ. Do not allow yourself to fall into the time suck trap. 5 yrs, no more.
Best of luck Chris - your work is very very good. I appreciate having run across you. Pursue your desires no matter what. I only ask you not forget us little guys.
If available, I would still pursue an Econ PhD (or something equivalent like Business Econ, Finance, etc.) assuming that the rank of school / program is the same. It will give you more options after graduation in both the private sector and public/think tank sector.
Regardless whether you do a PhD in Econ or Public Policy (or neither), continue writing/reporting on your substack about fraud, dishonesty, inconsistency, and bullying in academia. This will continue pay off massive dividends. Wouldn't be surprised if someone like Peter Thiel occasionally reads your work.
Good luck to you.