Temetwir

25.10.05

دال سين, دال صاد

PhDs are overrated. Now that we got that out of the way, onto the main idea. In Kuwait, the way I see it, we have got only three "types" of PhDs. Academic, political, and social. These three may, or may not, cross paths; just as much as they are not mutually exclusive.

The most obvious, you would think (or perhaps would like to think), is the Academic PhD. Where x pursues his or her further education for the sole purpose of academia and interest in knowledge. That, to me, is bullshit. From what I have gathered, a PhD is only the first step - as opposed to contrary belief that it is 'the final step on the ladder of knowledge' - and you can only thrive through research which follows, as one example.

Let's face it, Kuwait University, even though financially capable, doesn't give two shits about research. You do not see PhDs at KU publishing many significant articles in related-field journals, now do you? Yes, I know that there are researches that have been done slash being done. And yes, I know that Kuwait University has its own press (or whatever). Yes, I do know you are probably being taught a certain course, and the textbook's author is a Kuwaiti. I also know that most of the researchers are not the Kuwaiti PhDs that are in Kuwait University - as you would guess - they are the, um, non-Kuwaitis.

Personally, I don't give a fuck about research, or adding something to the field. Infact, I think what I am studying right now to be stupid and worthless in that sense. The catch being, however, is that it is a pretty important step to push one's career. And yes, when I say career I mean, and only mean, salary.

The political motivation for a PhD, is ofcourse, to have the Daal infront of your name when you run for parliament. This is extremely evident with the Islamists (what they call themselves- not what they should call themselves). These political PhDs are very fond of Egypt and Jordan to name a couple of countries.

Personally, I don't blame them for taking that path; simply because of what I have mentioned above about how 'some' regard the PhD as the last step - as opposed to literally being the first. In other words, if this Daal infront of their names would earn them votes, good for them I say.

Then comes the social PhD. The pursuit for "Dr X came, Dr X went" (word-to-word translation). The difference between the social and political PhD is that the social PhD does share some of the interest in the academic field. However not to the extent to be labelled an academic. My unscientific and un-based-on-any-statistics prediction suggests that each 4 out of 10 social PhDs have a 70% chance of switching teams to the political PhD team later on in life.

Now, the reason why I am writing this is because I have had a number of discussions with a number of friends. Some who are prospective MA+PhD students with Kuwait University, and some who have already started.

All of them fall into the Academic Team. 'What do they know', I tell myself.

The way I see it, spending 2 - 5 years doing a PhD (when you know you are coming back to Kuwait) can only be plausible - in my opinion - if two out of the following reasonings are met:

a- PhDs do not report to anyone. They do not have bosses. They have colleagues who may be heads of department. Heads of department can go fuck themselves. They are not bosses.

b- PhDs never experience routine. While what is taught may become repetitive with time (days, semester or years), the sections will always change. This is good for two reasons: smoking hot chicks first, and keeping up-to-date with what the at-the-time-students are into. Both reasons are just for fun. Point being, there isn't really much routine to scare away from.

c- PhDs earn, in some cases, more than members of parliament in salary. Repeat, in salary.

d- PhDs, whether they know it or not, will always be just-that-bit-much more respected by everyone for the Daal.

Stuff like that.

Point being, the only valid reason for doing a PhD in our day and time (again, knowing that you are going back to Kuwait) is to join the Social Team.

Economically, it depends on how you look at it. The calculation of the opportunity cost of staying and doing something else is a whole different issue which I prefer not "knocking its door" (word-to-word translation).

15 Comments:

  • In Saudi we have the same problem.. PhDs here are considering themselves as the most knowledgable humans!!! damn one time I had a chat with one PhD guy (at least he claimed that) I swear he said www.yahoo.com like this

    ahmed,te3ref al mail YAHOOOOOOOOO ?

    looool just imagine that :P stupid PhDs :P

    By Blogger ahmed, at 26.10.05  

  • samboose
    if it was the FIRST time he meets u, i agree thats VERY strange ena he says that.. espicially since we're talking about PhDs not MDs

    but yeah, its a widespread notion espicially in our area - which as i say, is the only valid reason (social) why some1 like me would actually do it

    ahmed
    hala walla, i like how u say "atleast he claimed that" - u reminded me of all the fakes who got their degrees (eg from egypt) with them not even researching a single book

    loved the yahoo example heh

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 26.10.05  

  • ouch my eyes!

    By Blogger Spontaneousnessity, at 26.10.05  

  • Socially & politically, yes I do agree.

    Academically, I don't.
    Argument :: I was talking to a doctor today and he mentioned publishing 3 conference papers in the summer, and will be working on doing the journals.
    There are around 4-6 doctors in my department doing research as I type this comment; And they're all Kuwaiti's.

    Wondering about their salaries? 1800+ K.D.

    By Blogger MBH, at 26.10.05  

  • spontaneous sup.. el new layout? 3an eldala3 yala 3ad, 3an el dala3

    mbh it is obligatory that u do research if u want to get promoted, so everyone does it- my point was mathalan urself, u get ur BA and then work towards ur PhD for the sole purpose of academia

    as i say, it DOES happen (example of my friends i mentioned), but i THINK its a waste of time becoz KU isnt the place <- my pov, could be right could be not

    i guess what ur trying to say is there are a number of q8i professors or those who aspire to become one day.. granted and i definitely agree

    *note: post was about phds IN kuwait, and not KUWAITI phds

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 26.10.05  

  • coool one.....lool..long time ago i was thinking about all the CPA ,CFA, PHD stuff....it could mean anything other than knowldge!

    By Blogger Mohammad Al-Yousifi, at 26.10.05  

  • Hal ayam kilman hab ow dab 9ayer dectoor, most from totally BS internet universities!

    By Blogger Closet Diva, at 26.10.05  

  • kila ma6gog it would add to social status, no1 can deny that .. but in ur case i think gaining years of experience is much more important (and also relevant socially).. khalas, 3ala marid elq8 o astegir ana ma3ak go ahead with MBA in alla 3a6aana 3omer heh

    btw what changed ur mind completely and u let it go?

    commercial, tell me more TELL ME MORE.. ana rathy aseer mn hal khamma lol, bas la seriously.. what do u mean internet universities? at 1st i thought kenty etkalemain abt el derasa "3an bo3d"

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 26.10.05  

  • mcarabian
    i sense that ur addressing q8i-PhDs as opposed to PhDs-in-q8 .. which i believe i had made a distinction explicit in one of my comments

    in other words, ur talking about the "men and women who are doctors", and im definitely not.. drs with my BA were q8i + family + friends of family, i know what thyere capable of

    anyway moving on to the good stuff,

    money-wise, note that i specifically wrote "Repeat, salary." .. i knew some1 would bring up the issue

    ur example of a grl marrying into "the right family" caught me off-guard .. am sorry but in no way do i see it relate

    socially, i do agree that it has to do with acknowledgment, if u may, of the effort the PhD went thru during the yrs .. thats what im trying to say (in not so little words)

    academically - as for myself, i must admit some of the articles that i come across (ok ok.. they hand them out) intrigue me and hence i do understand some of the excitement that comes with reading in one's field -obviously neither of us is talking abt novels

    to address what u said near the end, i myself am a current MA student already employed at KU and thus will work there once im back (la, mo mo3eed) so in no way was i generalising as i too am trying to make q8 better, mind u, in my own way.. thing is, i have the luxury to choose whether or not i 'want' to do a phd or not .. im just weighing its rewards other than self-fullfilment (as opposed to an MBA - if that too) since - while true the money is good - i can earn even more with just an MA .. let alone other, lets say, activities

    now.. if u dont mind:
    a- what did u mean by Accredited Univ? accredited by .. ?

    b- what field ru doing ur phd in

    c- by teaching adults, did u mean univ students?

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 27.10.05  

  • eclectic glad we're eye to eye.. didnt know about the 3000kd "grant" .. do u mean as a 'fund' for research? or as a 'reward' for publishing the paper in a journal and mentioning KU?

    as for creative writing, i definitely agree.. and i really think the english department would be better off if it split its majors and becomes more focused.. in terms of linguistics, applied linguistics, creative writing, literature, and a few more

    the staff would not need to change, they would just have to come up with new curricula!

    btw, id like to email u about something

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 28.10.05  

  • There are exceptions. With that out of the way, I must say that was an interesting reading. However there are a couple of things I’d like to go over. I can see that you have a certain measurement system that you used in your theory. Those measurements are based on your social, educational, and financial upbringing. You believe that PhD in “Kuwait” will ultimately compel you to social activities like politics. I believe I would rather have a parliament made up of PhD’s grads, instead of the on going gangbang I have seen lately.
    Secondly, and I quote ;
    “a- PhDs do not report to anyone. They do not have bosses. They have colleagues who may be heads of department. Heads of department can go fuck themselves. They are not bosses.”
    “And yes, when I say career I mean, and only mean, salary.”
    you can see that both of your statements are based on your concept of success and prestige. Which seems to evolve around the concepts of main steam Kuwait ideology, which is actual pure greed mixed with bits and pieces of shit.
    Thirdly, when it comes to your so called “doctor-x“, I suggest you wait to get your PhD before you make any theories. When people go get there “Daal” just for the sake of having it, you have to understand that they have earned it, thus they have the right to put it before after or in-between the name. and even if there intention in to do nothing but sit idly around, they are part of a community that consist of less than 1% of the entire planet population.
    Over all not bad for a rook, keep it up

    By Blogger Antisocial, at 29.10.05  

  • antisocial hello,
    im curious, what social/educational/financial upbringing ur referring to <- very interested to know

    u wrote and i quote:
    " You believe that PhD in “Kuwait” will ultimately compel you to social activities like politics " end quote

    no.. that is not what im saying, i have made it clear in my 1st paragraph when i wrote "These three may, or may not, cross paths; just as much as they are not mutually exclusive." .. its not the same as what u have come to undertsnad

    i must say this was very interesting: "you can see that both of your statements are based on your concept of success and prestige. Which seems to evolve around the concepts of main steam Kuwait ideology, which is actual pure greed mixed with bits and pieces of shit."

    am not entirely sure if its related to q8-mainstream-idealogy (however u wish to define it), but ur right.. it does have to do with success (very relative)

    finally, the "doctor-x" was in referral to the social-team, and my point was exactly that they have the right to put the daal wherever they want

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 29.10.05  

  • q8tyshareef
    enta ely saayed el7araka, enta ely maasek el ga3da.. bas fokna mn hal seera o seer rayaal :)

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 29.10.05  

  • It is true that the financial support the University of Kuwait provides for its faculty members to carry on research is limited, KAFS, on the other hand, is extremely generous.
    The low quality of research is a direct result of the education the drs had; most of them are product of British universities, where graduate students are "used" to complete current projects without teaching them the most important thing a graduate student should learn; Methodology. In other words, graduate students are not enrolled in Graduate Courses to upgrade their way of thinking, expand their knowledge and most importantly to expose them to broad techniques before choosing one to be used during the preparation of the dissertation. Another problem U of K has, is instructors like you, who are not motivated to research and show no intention to develop themselves after having the degree. They think that they paid for the convenient working hours, salary and social prestige during their course of graduate study, which is not true.

    Last word, the salary of full professor (Published at least 15 papers in accepted journals) will not exceed KD2200, including the rent allowance for those have no houses.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 30.10.05  

  • a- no idea where u studied, but all my yr is focused on that particular area - methodology (im in the uk)

    then again, its pretty much relative to major and school

    b- in my interview i was asked 'why dont u go to the department for an MA and PhD scholarship since u far exceed the requirements?' i just said that im not interested in wasting the 5-7 most important yrs of my life doing something i know wont get me close to where my ambition lays

    developing urself is subjective to what u aspire to become .. and u bet its true that the hrs are convenient and the salary is 'okay' to give the chance for "instructors like me" to do what they really want to do with their lives

    it is very interesting how a couple of u whomh ave commented have taken the whole aspect of academia a bit too 'personally' in respect to what i said abt it

    love the controversy thu guys, much appreciated :)

    By Blogger Temetwir, at 30.10.05  

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