so apparently there's a whole culture surrounding this ph.d. thing. it's pretty neat. here's a bunch of appropriate acronyms:

Patiently hoping for a Degree
Piled higher and Deeper
Professorship? hah! Dream on!
Please hire. Desperate.
Pour him a Drink
Philosophically Disturbed
Probably headed for Divorce
Probably heavily in Debt
Patiently headed Downhill...
Permanent head Damage
Potential heavy Drinker
Professional hamburger Dispenser... "Would you like fries with that?"
Post hole Digger
Professional hair Dresser
Piano hauling Done
Pizza hut Driver
Pretty heavily Depressed
Prozac handouts Desired
Pretty heavy Diploma
Pretty horrible dissertation
...and the funniest of them all - Philosophiae doctor

also, here is a link to the website of a strip that was written for the newspaper of that damn school across the bay. regardless of its affiliation, it's a funny strip and worth the read:

Ph.D. Comics