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Weird to see the PhD is now a trade degree with people expecting to receive technical skill training to increase their chances to get an ok job with benefits working for some corporation.

Possibly the PhD is the new High School Diploma, signifying basic literacy and ability to follow directions.

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Everything is a trade degree, unless you're independently wealthy.

Everything is a trade degree, if you lack the confidence that you will figure out things somehow.

Middle-class life is quite comfortable in most first-world countries. If you have the social capital from growing up in a middle-class family, it's often easy to remain in the middle class, even if you fail a couple of times. Upper middle class is another story, because it's characterized by playing the game and winning rather than social capital. If you are trying to remain in the upper middle class, you can't afford some of the luxuries a middle-class kid could.

Now this is what I call a hot take, that a PhD is possibly the new high school diploma.

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