To all those folks concerned about the effects of the Bethesda environment on the ego, have you ever visited? It's really not such a great neighborhood. The only place I was ever illegally relieved of my personal property. If you're still interested in a PhD after reading this page, you're probably doing it for the right reasons... I worked for an electrician in college (still there) who has a PhD and a ThD and lives on welfare. The "Unabomber" quote in the modern context of "random" school and workplace shootings leads one to suspect that there is something to the supposed dehumanizing effects of academia.