Transitional Diaconate

There probably is not a more inconsistent practice in the Episcopal Church than the ordination to the Transitional Diaconate. Over and over again, the church has affirmed that it believes in a Transitional Diaconate (as opposed to direct ordination), but cannot decide the best approach to when and how to do it.
Some Diocese ordain after graduation from seminary. Some ordain in December, six months before graduation. Some ordain over the summer prior to the senior year.
Some diocese have extensive examination and discernment with ordinands prior to ordination, while others have less rigorous standards in place.
I wonder what the perception of the purpose of the Transitional Diaconate is among Bishops? Is it a training period? Is it an on-the-job-training period? Is it "paying your dues?" With the state of many parishes, finding a paying gig as a Transitional Deacon is getting harder and harder. For those Diocese that ordain after graduation from seminary, that means working for free for six months and then trying to find a paying curacy or associate position at the same time that your student loans are coming due (usually significant student loans!).
If I were able to speak to every Bishop in the U.S., I would encourage examining what they are doing around the Transitional Diaconate and why. Are they doing what they have always done because they have always done it that way? If it is to be a training period, please consider that training while in the seminary, with the ability to interact with other students and faculty, might be a better training for a transitional deacon than sitting in a parish with little or no feedback loop. I would also ask that they consider the economic position they are putting their seminary graduates in. Many diocese spend a great deal of time and energy examining aspirant and postulants financial situations, and at times, denying them their call on the basis of financial position. Wouldn't a better use of time and resource be to find paying jobs and seminary funding?