Steve Tippins Ph.D.Helping doctoral students get their dissertation accepted, succeed in their careers, & change the world | Academic Career Advisor | Dissertation Chair & Founder, Beyond PhD Coaching | 35 + years of experience.

Only 2% of Americans Have a PhD

29 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, the speaker outlines the systemic challenges faced by doctoral students in the United States. He notes that after coursework, students receive minimal guidance during the dissertation phase, leading to prolonged, aimless searches for direction. This lack of support can extend a nominal three‑year program to seven or nine years. The speaker emphasizes that earning a doctorate is more a test of endurance than of intelligence, citing the statistic that roughly 2% of the U.S. population holds a PhD—paralleling the 2% who have completed a marathon, though they are not the same individuals. He concludes with a call to action, inviting listeners to join a free dissertation help group for additional support.

Chapters

So you get into a program, you're going to take some classes, then you're going to write a dissertation. Typically, you don't get a lot of support, especially when you get to the dissertation. You don't get a lot of guidance. So there's a lot of wandering around trying to figure out what to do, how to move forward, where the best place to do your study is. What do I do with my study when I finish? How do I complete my study? Lots of things like this get in your way while in the process, which means a 3-year program can be turned into a 7 to 9 One of the things I tell students frequently is, look, getting a doctorate is not a measure of intelligence. It's a measure of endurance. In fact, in the United States, about 2% of the population has a doctorate. Interestingly, about 2% of the U.S. population has completed a marathon. Now, it's not the same 2%. If you're stuck along the way, join our free dissertation help group.