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A Future History PhD, and the Debt Issue
Check this out. It might give some insight. Here is a thread from The Chronicle that gives a lot of advice from faculty about doing a PhD without funding (the general message: don't do it). The OP was admittedly in humanities, where the job market is abysmal and pay is low; however, there is some insight on there that I think applies to anyone wanting to do a PhD.
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There's an army of Ph.D. lumpenproletariat out there -- mostly in the humanities. People seemingly are just not psychologically adjusting to a job market that has been dismal now for decades.
The only reason to take on more expense for an unfunded program is if you know that you'll get a decent job at the end of it, or at least that the odds are good. That's why people are willing to pay heavily for the top MFE programs. But an unfunded Ph.D. usually means the department accepting you doesn't have a high opinion of you or your completion chances. It's a sucker bet.
So, I read the whole thread and, as usual, here is my opinion... STOP CRYING AND BITCHING!!! Be assertive, make a decision. Don't put the responsibility of your future in somebody else's hands.
First and foremost... WTH do you want to do?
Since you started posting on this forum, you always said that you wanted to work for RenTec. Now you have a chance to get closer to the source and you are whining because you can't afford it. "If there is a will, there is a way" so, if you really want it, you will find a way to pay for it, either get a job that you don't like, flip burgers, clean toilets, what have you... but you will take responsibility. The last resort would be to ask for more loans and get further into debt. Well, there will be a time when you will be able to pay for it.
If the debt burden is too much, you will stop the complaining and figure out a way to get a job, pay your debt and try to become good enough that one of this places you keep talking about give you a chance to work for them.
Also, I don't think the job market is as bad as you paint it. Good people always find jobs. As I posted before regarding your job hunt, either you are aiming too high in your job search or you are bombing the interview for some hidden reason (you will need feedback), or you are not that good or as good as you think you are (which is even worse) and you need to find out how to cover those shortcomings.
I'm sorry if I'm too blunt again.