My current stipend barely covers my cost of living, to the point that my partner and I are now subletting the room in our 600sq foot to help lower the cost of the rent. We are both students. My desk now sits in the shared living room and kitchen space, but I am grateful considering the housing crisis so many are facing in my city. I work as a TA, RA, in clinical practice, and I have prestigious funding. My partner and I are interested in having children, but the supports for students are so bad, I don't know how we will be able to afford it. I love research and academia and feel deeply like I can make a difference, but often wonder what the point of being a PhD student is, considering that each month we are going into deeper debt. We tell each other that it will be worth it in 4-7 years when we graduate, but it feels like the financial impacts of this decision will last a lifetime, and it is hard to know what job prospects will be once we finish.
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