5 ms·
the strict timeline can be a lie. yeah, on paper, you have a 3 year plan, but it fails most of the time so students wind up taking unpaid years to finish.
by munin 11y ago
the strict timeline can be a lie. yeah, on paper, you have a 3 year plan, but it fails most of the time so students wind up taking unpaid years to finish.
- a_bonobo 11y agoIn my area, no-one has failed their 3 year plan yet, maybe up to 4 years taken - our area has very little Australian citizens so the incentives are large. (there's an obvious Soviet joke here about 3 year plans)
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- danieldk 11y agoI did my PhD in The Netherlands. In my field (computational linguistics), the majority of people finished within the allotted four years. The working conditions are good: PhDs are generally employed as regular employees with vacation money and 13th month. The teaching duties were very light (typically TAing and later teaching one 7-week course), giving you a lot of time to focus on research.
- programLyrique 11y agoSame in France: all the PhD students in computer science I know have finished in 3 years, or 3 years and 6 months (you can request a 6 month extension). You can't carry on after that duration because you have to be funded and be full-time (so no side job).
- emeryberger 11y agoFWIW, these (IMHO absurdly) short PhD programs basically mean you need to do a postdoc for your CV to even be competitive with US CS PhDs -- assuming you want to do research in a top institution or research lab. So it's far from an obvious optimization.
- alphydan 11y agoThat was not my experience. I did a PhD in quantum physics in the UK (Imperial College) in 3 years + 6 month extension. I collaborated with Oxford University and I was able to publish in Nature Physics, PRL, etc ... (in other words, the top journals in the field). I was offered post-doc positions but eventually went to industry. I really enjoyed my PhD as a time to learn and think about deep and difficult questions. Regarding employment, I think it shows that you can commit to a problem. It shows perseverance and drive. And those are good skill to have at any technical job.
- emeryberger 11y agoMy comments should be interpreted as applying to PhD studies in Computer Science.
- JupiterMoon 11y agoThe view from Europe is that since students in US PhD programs spend their first two years doing courses they come out with similar actual research experience.
- emeryberger 11y agoThe view is wrong. In computer science -- at least at top programs -- students begin research immediately.