I have a young friend who recently completed a master’s degree in physics. I don’t think that I’m exaggerating by stating that he looks back on his experience as hellish.

Competition for marks was intense. It didn’t help that he was in an accelerated program that resulted in a BS plus a master’s degree in the same time period a BS would usually take, but the program chewed him up and spit him out.

He became depressive and suicidal in his second year, emerging from the episode with the help of SSRI’s and professional talk therapy.

He gutted the program out and got his degree with better-than-average marks, but even though his master’s thesis was published in a major journal and he was invited to present at two conferences, and even though he was invited to pursue a PhD, he could not leave physics fast enough.

He’s now studying for an MA in a program that is much less competitive, and he feels like he has a life back. He enjoys his work, and he has time for socializing and relaxation as well.

He doesn’t need or want medication anymore, though he keeps up with therapy to make sure he stays OK.

I know an extreme anecdotal case like this might not be able to say a lot about systemic problems in higher education, but thinking back to my own days studying engineering in college, I recognize a certain tendency to overload students on purpose and encourage cutthroat competition.

This can’t be healthy. Or productive.

My friend would have made a passionate and excellent physics researcher. Sadly, his competitive program made him hate studying physics.