@florianederer My sense is that this part is not very different than when my cohort entered in ‘04. Many students had done 1-2 year RA gigs at like the Fed, students from outside the US had gotten MAs. Those who went straight from BA to PhD might have had the hardest time adjusting

@florianederer I am surprised that there are candidates for this ordeal. One of the few professions where folks with a PhD from Harvard or MIT and 15 years of research post-PhD are still assistant professors with 5 publications ... and an uncertain future.

@florianederer I’m pretty skeptical that raising the ordeal is selecting for what “we” want

@florianederer Is it that different from a lot of other areas where either the PhD historically took longer and/or post-docs are a normal part of the process?

@momin_rayhan The opportunity cost for an economics undergraduate is just unfathomable.

@florianederer @TimDuy It is crazy, not a Phd but got an MA and RA jobs were paying peanuts in the DC area. Not sure how anyone makes with out significant outside resources, aka rich parents, or massive debt.

@florianederer Actually it takes less time from start to finish of a Ph.D. program than the vast majority of other fields, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

@florianederer Worth it!