Three research students in my department have blogged recently about their experience as students: see here, here, and here.
It’s a long time since I was a student, but I can still remember that doing a PhD was a tremendously varied experience. There are the depressing months when you stare at a blank sheet of paper and get nowhere, and the exhilarating moments when the scales fall away and you can see clearly something that nobody ever saw before; the hard slog when you are not quite sure you believe your argument and you have to read it in the most sceptical frame of mind you can achieve, and the uplift when you see it in print, beautifully typeset.
A recent poll reported by Nature suggested that PhD graduates are at a premium in the job market even in these difficult economic times: their employment rate and average salary compare favourably to matched individuals with a first degree.
Would I do it again? Of course!
The following article is unfortunately completely missing the point that you make above.
http://www.economist.com/node/17723223
My goodness – someone was not happy as a PhD student!