A recent study suggested that graduate students experience depression at six times the rate of the general population, and that "anxiety symptoms among economics Ph.D. students is comparable to the prevalence found in incarcerated populations.” Does that ring true to you. Does it have anything to do with how the subject is taught?
Well, I have often described the first year or two of getting a PhD in economics as intellectual hazing. I guess it somewhat depends on the person, but it is a difficult time for most people and there is a lot of pressure and sacrifice. In my case I had to travel over an hour each way to get to Drexel. I was 29 and married when I started the program and already had my first child and a mortgage. That certainly made it tougher for me.
I think it may be how it is taught. Most places take the fire hose approach to teaching the material. You have a lot of information flowing your direction and at times it seems impossible to take it all in. I found I would really understand the material a semester or two after I first learned it and started using it. I understand why it is that way though. 5 years is long enough in grad school. I wouldn’t want it to take 7 and that might be required to have a more comfortable pace and incremental curriculum.
Now, after the first two years for me things changed completely. The first two years were mostly classroom work and qualifying exams. After that it was research and teaching, which I throughly enjoyed. I had a great mentor and dissertation committee, which means a lot of course.
I have heard that you have "Supply" and "Demand" tattooed on your biceps. Have you come across many other economics-themed tattoos?
Lol, up until now I am the only one I know crazy enough to get an Econ themed tattoo. Demand is on the right bicep and supply is on the left so when I do pull downs at the gym, demand is downward sloping and supply is upward sloping!
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