Grad school quandary for a reader from the Global South

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Hello Cocoon readers, and apologies in advance for a long(ish) post. I am an incoming PhD in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) student at Cambridge HPS this Fall 2024, having won an AHRC and Cambridge Trust funding that cover both tuition and stipend for the duration of the program. I am from the Global South, and I am entering PhD as a mature student (early 30s), having worked as a College Philosophy teacher in my country (having a master’s is the minimum requirement to teach here). I am currently facing a difficult decision, and would appreciate everyone’s advice (esp. those based in the UK and continental EU).

I am currently deliberating whether to separate from my current home institution or not.

The thing is that, it is a life goal for me to work as an academic philosopher in the UK or EU (US too), as they provide a more welcoming and supportive environment for philosophizing (in comparison to my locale, that is). So, this PhD scholarship from Cambridge is a welcome development, as (it seems to me at least) this opens doors to opportunities to work in the UK or EU (perhaps even the US) afterwards. Thus, the option of leaving my current home institution (the reason why it seems like I need to be will be apparent below).

This is just a life goal, of course, and I am aware that this can be frustrated by the sorry state of the philosophy job market around the world. That’s why I am finding it hard to just give-up the security/stability of being essentially remaining an employee of my current home institution (I will just be considered on study leave). They are willing to provide additional funding for my PhD, on top of still giving me my salary, but in exchange of returning to the country afterwards. I will essentially be signing a return service contract (where 1 year leave is to 2 years return service), which means that, IF and when opportunities do arise after my time in Cambridge, I cannot just grab them and go.

So basically the difficulty for me is that: I am not sure about the prospects of a job (i.e., postdocs/fellowships/lectureships) abroad after my PhD, and so it seems like taking the plunge and separating from my institution is risky and comes with great opportunity cost. Of course, I recognize that there will always be risk and opportunity cost in every decision path, but I do not know whether they are worth taking in this particular case. On the other hand, IF opportunities do eventually come, having a contract with my home institution would be a hindrance. But this is a big ‘IF’. I might just be wildly optimistic or overestimating my own abilities (if it is relevant, I already have one publication in a Leiter top 10-15 generalist journal and foreseeing another one in another top 5-10 generalist journal).

I am not sure if I am framing my quandary appropriately (any decision theorist here?), but I would appreciate any advice/insight from everyone—from grad students, early career scholars, and seasoned academics alike.

I'm not sure what to advise. My sense is that the academic job market is terrible in the UK right, and I don't know how competitive UK PhDs are for jobs elsewhere in the EU. I also don't know much about "return service contracts" of the sort the OP describes.

Do any readers with experiences in these matters have any helpful insights?

Comments

[academic migrant]

Nothing decisive, but

a) Cambridge appears to have a decent placement record
b) I would personally avoid any commitments to return, but that's because if I were to get a similar binding contract from my country of birth, it doesn't come with a job guarantee. And even if it does, I have decided a long time ago not to return to my country of birth as an academic. But OP is in a different situation.
c) It seems guaranteed that if you sign the contract, you will be financially better off during your studies, this is a huge bonus.
d) You should also consider how difficult it is to get another job in your home country given that you will have a Cambridge phd (and potentially some post doctoral experience in the UK or elsewhere) on top of having had a job in your home country. I would weigh this against c).

[perhaps helpful]

I think the probability of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity opening up after getting a PhD is somewhat low, and that there would also be other opportunities after completing your return service. In addition, you also have the risk that future you may not want a career in the UK/EU for various reasons that you are not aware of yet.

My instinct would be to not give up your connection with your current university, as it provides additional funding and job security after a PhD, while not limiting your long-term career.

But I would definitely read the terms of the return contract very carefully, and perhaps even consult with an attorney to see exactly what your options are within the terms of the contract.

[anon]

Maybe this is impossible, but if I were you I'd be interested in negotiating a different agreement with the present employer. How about asking for, say, an unpaid leave of absence that you could return from, but they don't get to ask you for guaranteed years of service because they aren't paying you?

[G]

This would not be my suggestion, but I know that some people in similar situations first signed contracts with their home institutions and then broke them when they got jobs elsewhere. There were consequences. They needed to pay back all the money they received plus some remedies (like 30% or even more). And they would face a hard time if they went back and looked for jobs. But they did it anyways.

[Bill V.]

Not to encourage entering contracts with bad faith, but what happens if you break the agreement to return? If it is just paying a financial penalty (like having to return the salary and scholarships they gave you while on study leave), maybe that's a viable thing if you do get a dream job in the end. I also like anon's idea of negotiating the contract so you have better terms.

Another consideration is that if you got a philosophy teaching position in your home country with your master's degree, you will likely be even more competitive for such positions there when you have a PhD from Cambridge. So it may be easy to return there, even without taking the study leave, if other things don't work out for you. Obviously I don't know the state of the philosophy job market in your country, but it is something to consider.

[Many Possible Dreams In Life]

I know someone from the Global South who studied in a prestigious Western university with a very prestigious philosopher, published a huge amount, and then found that this hurt their career progression in their home country, as they were seen as out of step with what was regarded as "real philosophy". They also became disconnected with the networks of patronage. And I'm sure that envy is a factor.

On the other hand, despite their brilliance, their prospects in Western job markets were grim, because everyone's prospects are grim, and they research in an subdiscipline with particular grimness.

My own experience of the life goal you mention (and those of several Western guys I know) is that you can perform well on all or almost all quantitative metrics, and still find it impossible to find a permanent job in the UK/EU. Publications in top journals are almost required, but nowhere near sufficient even for short-term postdocs or teaching fellowships. In general, there are vast quantities of overqualified candidates trying to get jobs in the UK/EU, and most of them never succeed. (There are exceptions, e.g. in EU countries where we can formally insist on female candidates, we literally can't fill TT positions, so take that into account if relevant.)

Unless you really dislike living in your home country, my advice would be to maintain your connections there as much as possible. To be honest, I had the same dream as you and I would do it again, but I wouldn't pursue it in your position, because the UK/EU job market has been hugely challenging and crowding out of the rest of life for me, and it will be even worse by the time you graduate. And I'm one of the luckier young UK/EU philosophers I know in my generation.

[Daniel Weltman]

I think this depends in part on two things. 1) how much do you need the extra money and 2) can you easily find employment in your home country if you don't take the deal? If 1) is "not badly" and 2) is "yes" then I'd avoid committing yourself. Either you get a job in UK/EU/USA or you don't and then you go back to your home country.

If you do need the money, then you don't really have a choice.

If you can't get a job in your home country pretty easily, then it gets tricky. I am risk averse and would choose retaining the job you have over hoping to get a UK/EU/USA job, but also that depends on your chances of getting one of those jobs, which we can't judge just based on the information here. I am in India and there are many former students of mine who I think have pretty decent chances of getting UK/EU/USA jobs once they finish their PhDs abroad.

[Aspiring philosopher]

Hello OP here! Thank you so much for the initial responses. Greatly helped! Just to add further context/information in response to the comments above:

1. The contract with my home institution comes with job security. I have to serve there for atleast 8 years (if I finish my degree in 4 years since 1 year leave is 2 years return service), with a high probability of tenure. As ‘perhaps helpful’ mentioned, this doesn’t close further opportunities after the return service. My only concern is that I would be too old (academically) by then which might work against me when seeking opportunities abroad (unless I am a philosophical genius which certainly am NOT).

2. As 12:51 PM anon mentioned, there is actually an option for an unpaid leave, but that still comes with return service but reduced in half (1 year leave is to 1 year return service). This is not quite attractive to me just because I will still be tied to them and have to return without them supporting me financially. I am not sure if I can renegotiate this, but I will try to explore it.

3. What ‘G’ shared about people breaking their contract actually does happen. I even know some people who did break their contract. In response to ‘Bill V.’, this comes with legal and financial consequences as they have to pay all that were spent on them plus 50% equity pay. Apart from being a legal and financial nightmare, I am not inclined to doing this as this seems unethical (am I wrong?).

As ‘perhaps helpful’ and ‘Many Possible Dreams in Life’ mentioned, I do recognize that the probability of landing a job after the PhD is low even for the best of us. But I have a sense that it might be of value to try and fail in a life goal (this might give closure and avoid regrets at the end of one’s career/life), than fail merely for lack of trying. But, then again, I might be trading job and financial security for years of precarity, financial insecurity, and sense of failure.

To ‘Many Possible Dreams in Life’, you said you “had the same dream as [me] and I would do it again, but I wouldn't pursue it in your position, because the UK/EU job market has been hugely challenging and crowding out of the rest of life for me, and it will be even worse by the time you graduate.” May I ask if you are also an ‘academic migrant’ and how it turned out for you (are you in the UK/EU)? Would you care to elaborate why you wouldn’t do it ‘in my position’ but would do again in your case (what might be different about our relative positions that you would still do it)? Also, what do you mean by “the UK/EU job market has been hugely challenging and crowding out of the rest of life for me, and it will be even worse by the time you graduate”?

As Bill V. suggested, if I chose to leave my home institution and then discover that there is no job for me abroad, I can still return to my home country and probably find employment with a Cambridge degree (since my country is prestige given, there is high likelihood). My returning would not be viewed negatively since I did not break any contract. So there is that advantage from just amicably separating from my home institution.

I am still undecided though, so would still appreciate further advice/insight from kind souls. Thank you!

[either can be good for you]

I have heard of many people in the same shoes as you. From what I have heard, both routes (i.e., signing the contract, vs starting PHD with a clean slate) end up being fine. My suggestion is to follow your heart. (There is a lot of uncertainties in one of the route, sure. But whether it is worth it depends on you.)

[mossy]

It sounds like the best compromise is to read your agreement carefully, possibly with the help of a lawyer, and determine how bad it would be to break the contract later. Ultimately, if you can stay with your institution then, ideally, you would only break the contract later if you actually found an opportunity that was good enough to justify doing so, in which case you might not mind burning those bridges and dealing with penalties and, if no opportunity were to arise, you would simply return.

[H]

It wasn’t clear to me whether you could take a leave of absence (and remain employed) without the contract or the money. Is the choice just whether to take the stipend in exchange for the requirement (as opposed to option) of return service? If that’s the decision I would never do it if the position is funded anyway. Massive commitment that I could hardly put a price on. Life and goals can change in just a few years and this is pretty constraining to be required to teach and live somewhere afterwards

[Many Possible Dreams In Life]

Aspiring philosopher,

"May I ask if you are also an ‘academic migrant’ and how it turned out for you (are you in the UK/EU)? Would you care to elaborate why you wouldn’t do it ‘in my position’ but would do again in your case (what might be different about our relative positions that you would still do it)? Also, what do you mean by “the UK/EU job market has been hugely challenging and crowding out of the rest of life for me, and it will be even worse by the time you graduate”? "

I don't want to reveal too much, but I am from the West, I have worked in the UK/EU and also outside the West. I certainly think of myself as a migrant, although I have lived in more countries than most migrants. A hyper-migrant? :D

I am in the position where I have long-term temporary employment, but struggle to even get interviews for permanent positions. And achievements in the direction of permanent positions (e.g. publications or teaching evaluations) make it harder to get temporary employment in the future (or permanent jobs in high turnover locations) due to flight risk. As far as I can tell, this is more common among people in the UK/EU job market than people getting permanent positions (there are people who have done much better than me and who are in even worse positions) with the more typical outcome being running out of fixed term opportunities and then leaving academic philosophy.

The answer to your other two questions are closely related: I have put 100% of my life for nearly 10 years into securing achieving the goal you mention, I have succeeded on almost every quantitative metric imaginable, and I have had no interviews in the past 12 months. That's with the UK/EU job market in its current conditions. It is getting worse, as populations age (fewer students), governments cut higher education spending, more people from America come to the UK/EU to seek permanent jobs due to the enrollment crisis there, more PhDs graduate, the global spread of English opens up the UK/EU job market to more applicants, tenure declines, and countries like Germany start to develop tighter "up-or-out" rules against postdocs.

With a lot of effort, plus a lot of luck, I have been able to make a (precarious) living as a philosopher, mostly in the UK/EU, in the 2010s/early 2020s job market. I know many AMAZING scholars with greater achievements than me, who have been much more successful in terms of funding, and who also go for 3+ years of UK/EU (often also US and other Anglosphere) job markets without a single interview for a permanent (including TT) job, and they are in WORSE positions than me. Like I say, I am one of the luckier ones, though not the luckIEST (which would be a permanent job in the UK/EU).

By the time you graduate, the UK/EU job market will be tougher. You will also almost certainly need to spend many years in temporary employment before you are competitive for permanent jobs. By that time, the job market will be even worse and your chances will be even lower than mine right now. You will also face the challenge that every achievement you make burns opportunities due to flight-risk, while opening up a MUCH smaller number of opportunities in places that will appreciate those achievements.

So, if I was back to "square one" as a PhD student, I would know that I could do even better than I did and still have much lower chances than when I started. In contrast, if I could go back in time and roll the dice again, I would do so.

Like you, I was admitted to prestigious institutions and published in great places. My teaching feedback started great, then became steadily better, and has become comically good. Funding has been a blindspot so far, mainly because it's hard to apply for funding if you are moving countries (or continents) every year or two. Yet I can apply for UK/EU jobs where I fit the researching/teaching requirements perfectly, and not even get longlisted. Until you have done that a few dozen times, it's hard to empathise with the experience of the modern job market. And as I say, the UK/EU job market conditions will be worse for you than for me, because the underlying problem (the vast surplus of overqualified candidates relative to the number of permanent positions) is accelerating and will continue to accelerate over the next 10 years.

Therefore, if I was in your position, I would at least take seriously the possibility of finding some dreams in the Global South you are willing to pursue. My experience of working outside the West was that, in career (rather than personal) terms it was pretty awesome, and the rare experience in academia of being someone who is not easily replaced. In contrast, one reason why countries like the UK have such expensive visa requirements is that they could demand a lot of money (much more than they do at present, in the case of academics) and UK universities would still have hundreds of brilliant overqualified applicants from all over the world for any permanent job.

Let me put it positively: those of us from Europe face a choice between living in our home country or having more than marginal prospects of permanent academic employment.
If I understand your assessment of your home country's job market, you are in a cool position, because you have a different choice set -

(1) Living in your home country with more than marginal prospects of permanent academic employment.

(2) Trying for a marginal chance of permanent academic employment in the West. If that doesn't work out, as it does not for the vast majority of academics, it sounds like you could go back home and still philosophise when you want to stop trying.

(3) Trying for a more than marginal chance of permanent academic employment outside the West.

I don't want to give a recommendation, because I don't know your preferences over these options and I can't even informatively work out a counterfactual where my native soil is in the Global South, but I do recommend that you are positive and optimistic, because that seems like a comparatively attractive choice set for any contemporary young philosopher.

And in general, I honestly don't regard any outcome where one gets paid to do philosophy as a life that has gone wrong, including my own. When one compares it to the challenges that some of the greatest philosophers faced, it really is not bad, and while sacrificing things like a family or stable ordinary friendships is not a good thing, it's a sacrifice that many philosophers have made throughout our discipline's history. You have already been dealt great cards and played them brilliantly by your achievements so far; your academic career is likely to be wonderful, from a broader perspective, regardless of which choices you make among those we have discussed in this thread.

[H]

Since your position is funded could accept the offer from your home institution and put every cent they pay you in a high interest bank account, then if you find a more desirable job break the contract and pay the penalty out of that account and bite the bullet on the difference, and if you don’t find a more desirable job go back home and have built up a nest egg anyway.

[UK philosopher]

I'm a philosopher at a UK university. Some people think the sector is facing an existential crisis. I read that 40% or so of universities will be in debt at the end of this academic year. It's quite possible that some universities will close and many cut lots of courses (arts and humanities, of course). People may know that Kent recently closed its philosophy department. The general picture seems horrible. I take things on a year-by-year basis (each year I have my job is a bonus). Thus, I'd be very wary of planning an academic career in the UK.

Of course, things can change - but the current conservative party seem to want some universities to fail and the incoming labour party have no plans to fix the sector. Thus, I only see things getting worse.

(All of this is aside from the issue of hundreds of excellent applications for each job - it suggests soon there won't be jobs).

[Many Possible Dreams in Life]

UK philosopher,

Lest people think you are being hyperbolic: the Conservative party (then in a coalition government) shifted a large portion of the weight of funding from the government to tuition fees. Since 2017, these tuition fees have been frozen, resulting in a massive real-terms cut to the amount of money English universities receive from English students.

You could bring ANY sector to its knees this way. Freeze prices for tech sector products, don't compensate with government subsidies, and see what happens.

The Labour party faces the tough choice between (a) raising tuition fees, (b) significantly increasing government subsidies, (c) massively increasing non-UK students, who pay more, or (d) letting the English university sector undergo a deep decline, with departments closing and maybe some universities closing.

They are deeply committed to not doing (a), for historical reasons. (c) is politically controversial, due to its effects on immigration figures. (b) is unlikely because the UK public finances are in such a mess and universities are a low priority compared to things like state pensions, social care, defence, or healthcare. (d) would annoy UK academics and young people, but the former are a small and dispersed minority, while the latter don't vote as much as priority groups like pensioners.

Thus, I expect (d) to happen. This is a horrific situation for academics who want permanent jobs in the UK/EU, since (anecdotally) UK departments are more inclined towards permanent jobs and don't have long TT requirements, habilitation requirements etc.

Note that jobs in UK departments are already super-competitive, since a job there doesn't require learning e.g. Dutch, Danish, or German. When you are a graduate student, you tend not to notice this, but have a look at how international UK philosophy departments tend to be. This is not universal.

So the UK is both near the top of people's lists of where to apply and facing an apocalyptic future for its university sector. Moreover, like the enrollment cliff in the US, there will be spillovers across as UK academics from closed departments look for somewhere relatively close to home to restart their careers. This is one reason why the outlook for today's PhD students is much grimmer than for my generation, which were already far grimmer than previous generations.