Case 3004: The Sunk Cost Fallacy

The Trap

Subject was a 3rd-year PhD candidate in Humanities. The Trap was 'Identity.' "I had been the 'smart kid' since kindergarten. The only path presented to me was Professor. Leaving felt like a death. It felt like admitting I wasn't who I said I was."

The reality was grim: Adjunct wages are poverty wages. The job market is a lottery. The winning ticket is a tenure-track job in a town you don't want to live in, teaching kids who don't want to be there.

The Breaking Point

"I was at a conference. I saw a 45-year-old Adjunct literally begging a Department Chair for a semester contract. I saw my future. I realized I was fighting a war for a territory that had been salted."

The Exit Protocol

Phase 1: The Grief (Month 0-1)
"I cried for a week. Seriously. I had to grieve the 'Professor Me.' I had to accept that I was going to be 'just a guy.' Once the ego died, the logistics were easy."

Phase 2: The Pivot (Month 1-3)
"I looked at my skills. Writing? Research? Analysis? Zero market value in isolation. I needed a hard skill. I had always liked working with wood. I volunteered at a friends shop on weekends. I realized physical labor quieted the screaming in my head."

Phase 3: The Drop (Month 3)
"I walked into my advisor's office. I didn't ask for permission. I didn't ask for a leave of absence. I just said, 'I'm done.' He laid out the sunk cost argument. 'You're so close.' I said, 'Close to what?' He didn't have an answer."

Current Status

Subject is an apprentice carpenter. "My back hurts. My hands are rough. I make $28/hour. But when I leave work, I leave work. The work exists in the real world. I built a staircase yesterday. It's real. My dissertation wasn't."