Is a PhD in Science worth it?

[Alex K]

Of course, I am talking about people who are just "good students", and not people who are brilliant, such as Stephen Hawking, whose destiny it is to teach at Cambridge.  Having said that, it seems to me that Universities are operating a bit of a pyramid scheme, in that they can attract a lot of very talented individuals to become graduate students, whom they pay low wages to, who then perform the work of the University, such as teaching undergraduates, grading papers, etc.  And, if they are one of the 60 or so percent, they can, after 4 to 8 years, get their PhD in a very nice commencement ceremony.

But, in doing that, they are giving up high paying jobs with great benefits all the while losing out on home equity, compound interest on their retirement, seniority and experience in their careers, etc.  And, then, to top it off, once they have their PhD, they are likely to have accumulated some more debt, but after commencement, many of them are without jobs!  And, worse off, industry, for many jobs, views them as being "over-educated and under-qualified".

And, so, short of being brilliant (which usually means being born brilliant), "Is a PhD in Science really worth it?"

Worth what? Commensurate increase in earning power? Most likely, no. Assured career in academia? Probably not. Satisfaction of experience and training in independent research, maybe.

If you think of life like a business, then most likely PhD is a bad investment. If you think life is LIFE, then what do you want from LIFE?

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I agree with Mathilda, if you have to ask...

But the idea that you are giving up high paying jobs when doing a PhD is wrong. I've encountered plenty of industry jobs where they explicitely hire PhDs.

Yes, but if high paying job is you sole goal, is a PhD the best way to get it?

It depends on which job you are aiming for. There are certain jobs in leadership positions where a PhD is encouraged, but for many it is not. There were a few people in my grad physics program who were clearly there to make a career and couldn't care less about the science. I despised them for that.