Depending on the field in which you choose to pursue a Ph.D., you could receive a "full ride" throughout your program, or you might find yourself financing much of your own education through a combination of loans, savings and part-time work. Students in the computer and physical sciences and engineering, for example, have a much higher likelihood of receiving generous financial aid packages that include tuition waivers, grants, fellowships and assistantships. They're also eligible for government funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Humanities and social science doctoral students, however, will have a more difficult time obtaining funding for their education. Some prestigious doctoral programs that have traditionally provided full support to their Ph.D. students--including living stipends, tuition waivers, research support and travel grants--recently announced that they will be scaling back their Ph.D. admissions in order to focus more of their resources on fewer students. Harvard, Princeton and the University of Chicago are among the elite institutions cutting back on their admissions in light of economic pressures, with Chicago alone seeing a 25 to 33 percent drop in admissions. If you have the credentials to obtain admission to these programs, you won't have to worry about how you'll pay for it, but otherwise, think very carefully about whether or not you will be able to bear the financial burden for the next several years.
Even if you do manage to make it through a Ph.D. program in the field of your choice, you then face the challenge of finding employment in a job market that's become increasingly tight for everyone, regardless of the quality of their resume. The Modern Language Association, for example, found that their academic job listings shrank by 21 percent from 2008 to 2009. The MLA also lamented the trend in replacing tenure-track positions--full-time academic positions, complete with benefits and relative security--with adjuncts, the "temporary staff" of the academy. Economic stresses have also encouraged more tenured professors and researchers to remain in their positions long after the traditional retirement age, precluding freshly minted doctoral students from taking over their roles.
The opportunity cost of entering a doctoral program must also take into account the time it will take the average student to complete one. Most Ph.D. programs last a minimum of three years, with many humanities students taking anywhere from eight to 10 years to finally complete their dissertation. That translates to nearly a decade in lost income and career advancement opportunity; while you're toiling away at your research and writing, your undergraduate cohorts are slowly but steadily climbing the ladder at their respective companies.
Avoid pursuing a Ph.D. if you can't handle staying in one place for several years, especially if you have a family. Since the average doctoral student can take anywhere from five to 10 years to complete their degree through to their dissertation defense, you and your family must be willing to stay put for that length of time. In addition, your family must be willing to accept the fact that you will be unable to provide a full-time income--or even a part-time income, depending on the requirements and intellectual rigor of the program--for several years.
Consider also whether or not you're willing to study the same topic for years on end. Bachelor's degrees allow students to pursue different interests for as long as they wish before they're asked to choose a major. Doctoral students, on the other hand, must have at least a general idea of the specific subject they wish to pursue the moment they apply to their program of choice. Do you want to devote your brainpower and pocketbook towards the study of string theory or Chaucer's poetry for the next several years? Doctoral programs are where original ideas and innovations are often born, but they also exact considerable sacrifices from their students. Know what you're getting into before you enter one so that you know the risks as well as the benefits.