Let's begin with the obvious thing that no one tells you about until you're mid-way through a Ph.D. program: it's ritualized humiliation.

A Ph.D. is:

• Rigorous;
• Administrative;
• Political;
• Best suited to those who excel at doing busy-work often.

A Ph.D. is not:

• A journey of knowledge with intelectual peers;
• Best suited for the brilliant or creative;
• An invitation to demonstrate intelligence and/or creativity.

I bring these up because they were misconceptions...

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm pretty much out of options right now.

I don't think that any of the jobs I've applied for will pan out--the default response is either nothing, or a terse "Thankyoubutfuckyourself" letter. The nicest refusal I received was from the Feds. However, they refused mid-application, while I'd chosen to "save and re-visit" my application package.

I'm not sure that it's worth it--or possible--to live in a world...