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>Most people will chose Option 2. The two main types of people who chose Option 1 are those who are passionate about learning and advancing human knowledge and
by eli_gottlieb 9y ago
>Most people will chose Option 2. The two main types of people who chose Option 1 are those who are passionate about learning and advancing human knowledge and those who want a career where a PhD is required.
I was under the impression that "those two main types of people" are the only ones who're really supposed to go into PhD programs in the first place, so shouldn't we be talking about the incentives important to them? Not to say money isn't important, but to say that from their point of view, Big Tech/Finance/Oil/Pharma/Defense may simply be a slog.
There are also plenty of people who graduate with strong grades from a good undergrad and some nice experience and... simply don't get offered six-figure salaries right out of school. All my first job-offers were right around $80k/year.
- tyoma 9y agoI should have clarified my point better. Yes, those two main types of people are exactly who is supposed to go to grad school. But desire and qualifications are not enough. One also has to be willing to live in near poverty and delay starting a family for ~6 years. It is hardly surprising few people take that option when instead they could be living comfortably (even 80K/year is well above median US income) at a job they're not passionate about.
- eli_gottlieb 9y ago>It is hardly surprising few people take that option when instead they could be living comfortably (even 80K/year is well above median US income) at a job they're not passionate about. But we're talking about a "disappearing" American grad-student. What has actually changed about lucrative professions being more lucrative than a grad-student stipend? This whole thread comes across as people just wanting to brag that they went into industry rather than think about the question.