Do people who do PhDs realize that they aren’t worth the time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I had known this before my kid committed to attend a college. I didn't realize I would be paying money for him to be taught by idiots. I guess I could have him self teach himself but good luck finding an academic textbook not written by some PHd idiot who knows the math behind search engine algorithms and wasted his time writing a book to explain it to others instead of raking in the money.

Oh the world is so lucky to have people like you (NOT)

Hopefully your kid is more dimensional than you are.

[Anonymous]

BUPPP = bringing up a previous poster's post

What is SME?

In my world, SME = small to medium enterprise. Yes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They are aimed at rich kids who don’t seem to need money until their late 20s.

The level of ignorance on this thread is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baffles the mind that someone thinks a terminal degree in any field won't pay more than stopping along the way. A phD in Psychology is not going to have a bachelors in computer science or vice versa and a phD in psychology always makes more money than a bachelors in Psychology.

You’re missing that most master’s degrees are unfunded and that more education means postponing saving for retirement.

On the other hand, you are missing the point that for some, the goal is not "postponing saving for retirement." For many, it's a true love of the subject. For others, it's a means to and end. My SIL has 4 degrees, no deblt. Loves what she does. My son, year 2 ugrad, already looking into PhD prgrms in his field.

Great then those people can pay for their degrees themselves & stop begging for student loan forgiveness (lots of people begging for that got useless graduate degrees with loans).

I am the pp and all for no general atb loan forgiveness. Still pro higher degree where interest and/or desire lies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I had known this before my kid committed to attend a college. I didn't realize I would be paying money for him to be taught by idiots. I guess I could have him self teach himself but good luck finding an academic textbook not written by some PHd idiot who knows the math behind search engine algorithms and wasted his time writing a book to explain it to others instead of raking in the money.

Oh the world is so lucky to have people like you (NOT)

Hopefully your kid is more dimensional than you are.

I was being sarcastic which I thought was obvious. Maybe the OP was being sarcastic too and we all just missed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I had known this before my kid committed to attend a college. I didn't realize I would be paying money for him to be taught by idiots. I guess I could have him self teach himself but good luck finding an academic textbook not written by some PHd idiot who knows the math behind search engine algorithms and wasted his time writing a book to explain it to others instead of raking in the money.

Oh the world is so lucky to have people like you (NOT)

Hopefully your kid is more dimensional than you are.

I should add that my kid is actually planning to get a PhD. He's never been driven by money and material things. His definition of success is finding intellectual fulfillment and helping society.

[Anonymous]

For engineering and experimental sciences (not social sciences), MS and PhD programs are usually free with an additional cash stipendin exchange for being a TA/RA. So those programs graduate students with little or no grad school debt, and with very solid job prospects.

PhDs in non-science/non-engineering subjects often have huge debt and result in jobs with much lower incomes afterwards.

So the reality is that cost/benefit of grad school varies very widely and the cost/benefit correlates strongly by the type of degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are aimed at rich kids who don’t seem to need money until their late 20s.

The level of ignorance on this thread is astounding.

The pp you’re replying to is correct.

[Anonymous]

My child is planning to apply to PhD programs within the next few years in a field where there isn’t a lot of discussion of them (Accounting).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BUPPP = bringing up a previous poster's post

What is SME?

In my world, SME = small to medium enterprise. Yes?

Subject matter expert

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For engineering and experimental sciences (not social sciences), MS and PhD programs are usually free with an additional cash stipendin exchange for being a TA/RA. So those programs graduate students with little or no grad school debt, and with very solid job prospects.

PhDs in non-science/non-engineering subjects often have huge debt and result in jobs with much lower incomes afterwards.

So the reality is that cost/benefit of grad school varies very widely and the cost/benefit correlates strongly by the type of degree.

Most humanities and social science PhD programs also are typically ‘free.’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For engineering and experimental sciences (not social sciences), MS and PhD programs are usually free with an additional cash stipendin exchange for being a TA/RA. So those programs graduate students with little or no grad school debt, and with very solid job prospects.

PhDs in non-science/non-engineering subjects often have huge debt and result in jobs with much lower incomes afterwards.

So the reality is that cost/benefit of grad school varies very widely and the cost/benefit correlates strongly by the type of degree.

Most humanities and social science PhD programs also are typically ‘free.’

Depends on what you mean. Their stipends are lower than STEM PhD students. $30k/year stipend won’t get you far in Boston or Berkeley even with several roommates.

Definitely not free wrt opportunity cost!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really sure who PhDs are aimed at. I had to take out the max student loans just to afford a bachelor’s and I understood that I needed to start earning ASAP. No time to frolic about studying literature or zoology.

Google is your friend.

You'll quickly learn no one is frolicking through them.

They are aimed at rich kids who don’t seem to need money until their late 20s.

Not even slightly true.

I have *never* worked harder than while I was getting my PhD. It’s not a gentle path that someone would take without really wanting to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t realize it. My hippy-era socialist PhD parents raised me not to think about money. I don’t think they even understood the concept of opportunity cost, or if they did, would have been ideologically against the entire premise.

I regret my phd now. I wish I’d trained as a nurse or teacher. I’ve become pretty cynical about the quality and influence of most psychological and social science research, which is my training.

I have a very similar background, although my parents are immigrants with PhDs. Their training allowed them to immigrate and work here, so they believed I need a PhD to survive.

The highlight of my Ph.D. is all the bright and interesting people I've met during the training. They truly enriched my life. That's about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For engineering and experimental sciences (not social sciences), MS and PhD programs are usually free with an additional cash stipendin exchange for being a TA/RA. So those programs graduate students with little or no grad school debt, and with very solid job prospects.

PhDs in non-science/non-engineering subjects often have huge debt and result in jobs with much lower incomes afterwards.

So the reality is that cost/benefit of grad school varies very widely and the cost/benefit correlates strongly by the type of degree.

That is not true. My humanities PhD was fully funded--the majority are. I would never advise a student to incur debt for a PhD. That suggests they aren't strong enough to succeed in their chosen field. It's a hard enough path even when funded.