Said the Professor to the Perky (possibly doomed) Student

Odd timing. Last night I was mulling over the prospect of dusting off my wide-eyed motivated graduate school persona and starting to apply to Phd Programs. Its a cause of much anxiety for me in this fugue state I (barely) exist in now. Teaching on a collegiate level is quite a lot fulfilling and a much of it, the application of my knowledge base towards broadening the horizons of the uninitiated, I find far more gratifying than I'd expected when this began. However, as the Professor above drones, managers at Costco make more...and get actual benefits. Also? Grad school was an interesting experience, but I always got the sense that my professors felt the similar soul crushing realities as the Monotone Professor above, and it was enough to give me something of a pause. "A life of the mind" is noble but at this date its sure as hell not paying the bills. The next question becomes, do I move towards more debt, possibly obscure locations, and scores of reading, analysis and hoop-jumping in order to possibly raise my pay scale... or continue bumbling through the tepid waters of the job market? Ah the joy of toss ups.