The PhD system is a Ponzi scheme. First and foremost, a PhD program trains one to become a professor. During a professor career, one is expected to graduate 5, 10, 20 PhD students. It is mathematically impossible for the majority of these students to find a professor job. The explosion of higher education, internally and globally, masks the problem to some extent, just like a good old fashioned Ponzi scheme appears solvable for a period of time.
Edit: It is pretty well known that there is exactly "One True Path" for a research career. See [0] or [1]
Edit: It is pretty well known that there is exactly "One True Path" for a research career. See [0] or [1]
[0] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/care...
[1] http://ethicsandscience.scientopia.org/2008/11/20/excuses-fo...