3 ms·

Um as someone with a Ph.D. in the life sciences: I can make close to 7-figures (amortized over a decade or so) pushing/enabling the AI/Cloud Computing agenda..

Um as someone with a Ph.D. in the life sciences: I can make close to 7-figures (amortized over a decade or so) pushing/enabling the AI/Cloud Computing agenda... or... I can make close to 6-figures (and stably so) working as a staff scientist... Gonna have to split the difference there IMO to grow the ranks. I am somehow reminded of the article complaining that retirees are hoarding cash instead of spending because they fear the future. How about constructing a society where I feel I should work for those 6-figures because it will bring a better future rather than compelled to chase 7-figures because the future is @#$%ing scary right now? Because that's what it's going to take for someone like me. And of course, I only speak for myself, but the data in that article about retirees makes me think I'm not the only one.

austenallred 9y ago
Close to 7 figures? How are you doing that math? (Genuinely curious)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- xapata 9y ago
  > amortized over a decade or so
  - austenallred 9y ago
    Yes, I read that too. There are still an infinite number of ways that could break down.
- oneshot908 9y ago
  Over ~2 decades... Join a lot of startups that ultimately fail, but which were doing the right sort of things... Some of them didn't fail... Repeat with ever-increasing ability to detect bozos...
  - lqdc13 9y ago
    I guess I still don't see it. I know a lot of life sciences and CS PhDs and only one made 7 figures amortized over 15 yrs. Mostly you make very low 6 figures.
    - oneshot908 9y ago
      All IMO... Broadly, there are two mistakes I see people make: 1. Not taking enough chances in the first place 2. Taking a chance, but riding a loser all the way down or swearing off startups altogether after a single bad experience which leads to 1 above You are a most likely an at-will employee. Your employer can dump you without any warning at any time. Any sense of loyalty beyond enjoying your work or your paycheck is misplaced. Also, you could argue legitimately that I just eventually got lucky and I represent a raging example of confirmation bias now, but it's happened 3 times now, so maybe I've learned a thing or two by getting burned a lot? Or maybe not. Truth is a pathless land and all that. One sentence advice: go work for Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple or their ilk if you want a relatively safe high six-figure income and you can't stomach risk.
    - infinite8s 9y ago
      Are you talking about gross? At 75k/yr you'll easily clear $1M after 15 years. Staff scientists at national labs easily make that.
      - lqdc13 9y ago
        I am assuming we're talking about annual amortized income. Otherwise, why bring up the word amortized?
jmcgough 9y ago
I was interviewing for PhD programs after working in an neurosci lab all through undergrad. I skipped the 6 years of 20k/year poverty and joined a tech startup instead. Several of my friends are in PhD programs, work far harder than me, and are most likely going to be floating around in post-docs for years after. I wish we had a congress that better prioritized science funding - basic research is the foundation for a lot of the advances we make as a society, and it's so stressful to be in academia right now that a lot of extremely talented and skilled people burn out and take industry jobs.

austenallred 9y ago

Close to 7 figures? How are you doing that math? (Genuinely curious)

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
xapata 9y ago
> amortized over a decade or so
- austenallred 9y ago
  Yes, I read that too. There are still an infinite number of ways that could break down.
oneshot908 9y ago
Over ~2 decades... Join a lot of startups that ultimately fail, but which were doing the right sort of things... Some of them didn't fail... Repeat with ever-increasing ability to detect bozos...
- lqdc13 9y ago
  I guess I still don't see it. I know a lot of life sciences and CS PhDs and only one made 7 figures amortized over 15 yrs. Mostly you make very low 6 figures.
  - oneshot908 9y ago
    All IMO... Broadly, there are two mistakes I see people make: 1. Not taking enough chances in the first place 2. Taking a chance, but riding a loser all the way down or swearing off startups altogether after a single bad experience which leads to 1 above You are a most likely an at-will employee. Your employer can dump you without any warning at any time. Any sense of loyalty beyond enjoying your work or your paycheck is misplaced. Also, you could argue legitimately that I just eventually got lucky and I represent a raging example of confirmation bias now, but it's happened 3 times now, so maybe I've learned a thing or two by getting burned a lot? Or maybe not. Truth is a pathless land and all that. One sentence advice: go work for Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple or their ilk if you want a relatively safe high six-figure income and you can't stomach risk.
  - infinite8s 9y ago
    Are you talking about gross? At 75k/yr you'll easily clear $1M after 15 years. Staff scientists at national labs easily make that.
    - lqdc13 9y ago
      I am assuming we're talking about annual amortized income. Otherwise, why bring up the word amortized?

jmcgough 9y ago

I was interviewing for PhD programs after working in an neurosci lab all through undergrad. I skipped the 6 years of 20k/year poverty and joined a tech startup instead. Several of my friends are in PhD programs, work far harder than me, and are most likely going to be floating around in post-docs for years after. I wish we had a congress that better prioritized science funding - basic research is the foundation for a lot of the advances we make as a society, and it's so stressful to be in academia right now that a lot of extremely talented and skilled people burn out and take industry jobs.