A：Hey, Shirley! Want to join me for lunch...my treat!

B：Wow! Sure!

A：I must confess I have an ulterior motive for asking you to lunch.

B：Oh....that's OK....as long as you're buying!

A：I really want to pick your brain about something I've been thinking a lot about.

B：I'd love to help if I can.

A：Well, as you know, I have a Bachelor's degree in English literature and that's served me well so far, but I've always wanted to do some post-graduate work...maybe even get a Doctorate!

B：Wow! Just the idea of going back to school fills my head with pain.

A：But you have a Master's degree...hasn't that helped your career?

B：Yeah, I'd have to say it has. But I'm still paying for it, you know.

A：I know education is expensive, but it's been my lifelong dream. Call me crazy, but I've always wanted to have that PhD at the end of my name.

B：Well, getting a Doctorate degree would mean close to a decade of school. Can you afford that? Can you survive that?

A：I certainly can't afford it, but I'm sure I could find some good student loans.

B：I think you need to separate the dream of having a PhD from the reality of years of more schooling. It's not as romantic as you might think.

A：Yeah....I keep thinking about what I'll do with a Master's or Doctorate. I love language but I don't think there are a lot of well-paying jobs out there for experts on Shakespeare.

B：Uh huh, that's for sure. You might find that your only career choice is teaching other graduate students.