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[quote=Anonymous]As an aside, I was law school-bound when a prof whom I asked for a rec promised one on the condition that I apply to PhD programs as well.  His argument: “They’ll pay you to go to school and if you don’t like it, you can always quit.  At which point you could still go to law school.  No one looks back on their life and says ‘Damn, I wish I’d spent more of my 20s practicing law!’” Substitute “engineering” for “law” and you’re probably in a similar place (except I probably found law more appealing than you find engineering).

In addition to the already-given advice re not self-funding a PhD and making sure your program/advisor can place people, I’d add that when you make a self-indulgent (vs a practical) choice, you should remember that — and feel free to change course if/when you cease to feel indulged.  Don’t look on walking away as failure or giving up or a sign you’ve wasted your time.  See it as taking what you need/want/value from the experience and then moving on to take on some new project/adventure. One tenured prof I know is now a chef, another’s in veterinary school (both took early retirement).  A couple others are artists.  My dissertation advisor had a side career as a novelist.  Basically academia attracts and to some extent enables lifelong learners and you may end up somewhere different than you anticipated. [/quote]

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