The Curse of Credentials

100 Reasons Not to Go to Graduate School:

The problem is that the number of available jobs is vastly outnumbered by the number of people applying for them. There are simply too many PhDs produced every year for the higher education establishment to absorb them all, despite the absurd degree to which it has absorbed them into jobs that have nothing to do with traditional research and teaching. Today, universities hire doctors of philosophy to be in charge of their dormitories, alumni associations, and police departments.

I wanted to do a Master's degree in my field when I was an international student in Canada. I talked to a professor at my university who I respect very much. He was quite candid. He told me that the university has a certain number of spots, let's say 25, for Canadian students in that specific Master's program every year. However, there's one or maybe two spots for all international applicants in that program.

This meant that my competition would be mighty tough and indeed it was.

Later, I talked to him again. My grade in his advanced fourth-year course was an A+ and I didn't make the cut in the Master's program. Yet, in order to fill all the Canadian slots, the university had accepted a female student whose grade in the same required course was a B-. Usually, they rejected students who had below A- in that very important course.

I do wonder about the trajectory of my life had I been accepted ...

Link via Instapundit.