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A comment on UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay. Parent comment

Re:UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking fo... by caf on Sunday March 01, 2020 @07:30PM (#22460476)
It's like if you want to be a General, you are going to have to be a Private first. There is a progression in the sciences.

That's not how the military works at all. A Private is an enlisted rank, and their career path typically tops out at a level like Warrant Officer.

If you want to be a General, you're going to have to start as a Lieutenant (the lowest commissioned officer).

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Re:UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking fo... by jogjayr on Monday March 02, 2020 @12:48AM (#22461976)
I think they got their analogy slightly wrong but it makes sense. If you want a career in research, a Bachelor's or Master's degree is like enlisting. You won't progress beyond a certain level. Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today. A military academy has the added benefit of a guaranteed officer job upon graduation. No such guarantees exist for a PhD.
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Re:UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking fo... by barry-cotter on Monday March 02, 2020 @06:13AM (#22463409)
> Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today.

What proportion of officers in the US Armed Forces graduates from the military academies? A third? I very much doubt graduating from one is required to become a general. Being a great political operator is but it’s not like only military academy graduates can do that.

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