4 ms·

I've just had this debate with several friends (trying to convince them not to go for PhDs), and overwhelmingly their goal is simply to avoid the job market. T

I've just had this debate with several friends (trying to convince them not to go for PhDs), and overwhelmingly their goal is simply to avoid the job market. Totally anecdotally, it remains very hard to get an entry-level job unless you have some hard skills. A PhD offers the promise of avoiding the grueling process of applying for jobs and they often (incorrectly) think that it will make them much more employable.

ipunchghosts 11y ago
Apply for jobs is way easier than candidacy and comps, not to mention a dissertation. I stopped after my masters, bought a house, and had 2 phd candidate friends move in with me (we live in a city with a university). They tried to tell me that grad school was harder than the real world. I argued that its easier citing my experience in grad school and now the real world. I put in a solid 40 hours a week. In grad school, I was at the office roughly 50-60 but it was largely unproductive. I find that graduate labs encourage bad habits like staying up too late to fix a problem that could be easily fixed in the morning after a good night sleep. To prove to my friends that grad school was easier than the real world, I offered to drive them to university everyday and pick them up on my way home. I noticed that neither of them worked while at home. After the first week of a straight 40 hours, they were exhausted. After a month of this, they found another ride to school because they said working a straight 8 hour everyday was too much!
- morgante 11y ago
  > Apply for jobs is way easier than candidacy and comps, not to mention a dissertation. They're different skills. I certainly would find getting into a PhD problem much harder than getting a job. But I've spent most of my undergraduate career working and networking—and my GPA/research reflects that. On the other hand, many of my friends never realized that the real world isn't a series of hoops. They've done great academically (3.9+ GPA, serious research with professors) but neglected to develop any real hard skills or to learn about employability. So the job market is incredibly intimidating to them, while a PhD looks like another series of hoops, which is comforting. > I argued that its easier citing my experience in grad school and now the real world. I have no idea what grad school is like, but I do think that the "real world" is a lot easier than undergrad. With jobs, you have a defined amount of work to do each day and have loads of free time to do whatever you want with. Whereas academics have a limitless supply of potential things to do, without defined hours. But maybe that's just because I've always loved work a lot more than school.

ipunchghosts 11y ago

Apply for jobs is way easier than candidacy and comps, not to mention a dissertation. I stopped after my masters, bought a house, and had 2 phd candidate friends move in with me (we live in a city with a university). They tried to tell me that grad school was harder than the real world. I argued that its easier citing my experience in grad school and now the real world. I put in a solid 40 hours a week. In grad school, I was at the office roughly 50-60 but it was largely unproductive. I find that graduate labs encourage bad habits like staying up too late to fix a problem that could be easily fixed in the morning after a good night sleep. To prove to my friends that grad school was easier than the real world, I offered to drive them to university everyday and pick them up on my way home. I noticed that neither of them worked while at home. After the first week of a straight 40 hours, they were exhausted. After a month of this, they found another ride to school because they said working a straight 8 hour everyday was too much!

morgante 11y ago
> Apply for jobs is way easier than candidacy and comps, not to mention a dissertation. They're different skills. I certainly would find getting into a PhD problem much harder than getting a job. But I've spent most of my undergraduate career working and networking—and my GPA/research reflects that. On the other hand, many of my friends never realized that the real world isn't a series of hoops. They've done great academically (3.9+ GPA, serious research with professors) but neglected to develop any real hard skills or to learn about employability. So the job market is incredibly intimidating to them, while a PhD looks like another series of hoops, which is comforting. > I argued that its easier citing my experience in grad school and now the real world. I have no idea what grad school is like, but I do think that the "real world" is a lot easier than undergrad. With jobs, you have a defined amount of work to do each day and have loads of free time to do whatever you want with. Whereas academics have a limitless supply of potential things to do, without defined hours. But maybe that's just because I've always loved work a lot more than school.