This triggered so many memories. I earned my PhD in 1983. I went from BA to PhD in 4 years, because that's how long my full-ride scholarship lasted. No way was I paying for the privilege, haha.

One of my fellow students, a year behind me, was forced to start over her research from the beginning because her chair left and the only professor who would take her on was in a different area of sociology. He deemed her interest in family violence meritless as an area of study. She ended up working at AARP as a researcher.

Another student, a couple of years older than me, also had to start over for similar reasons.

I actually enjoyed my lifestyle in Ithaca NY. I didn't have to worry about money. But I never really planned an academic career, nor did I pursue one.

But I recall wanting to quit and my mother browbeating me over the phone, me in tears. I think she was happier about my eventual graduation than I was. I went on to a first career in writing and journalism (launched via a connection from my thesis chair, who'd come from a non-traditional background), a second in graphic design, and finally, web and UX design. I tapped into a lot of what I absorbed as a sociologist in my worklife. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated college, so with the free ride, the PhD program made sense.