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I don't think Google has ever turned away an applicant for being "too smart". That being said, five years in a PhD is probably not as good for your career as f

I don't think Google has ever turned away an applicant for being "too smart". That being said, five years in a PhD is probably not as good for your career as five years' experience at $BigNameTech. PhD is probably more fun, though.

metaphor 8y ago
>> PhD is probably more fun, though. These notes[1]--written by Prof. Comer of Purdue--and over a year of introspection ultimately led me to decide against the PhD path (EE, not CS). To be sure, the words fun, happy, and rich were used precisely zero times. It's a humbling quick read for anyone else out there considering. [1] https://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html https://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html
- Invictus0 8y ago
  The word "joy" is used, to be fair.
- notafraudster 8y ago
  The notes are very apt, but it's worth noting that a PhD is so fun that the people who finish do so in spite of all the misery described in that essay. It's the best and worst decision of your life.
- majos 8y ago
  As a PhD student, I'll lightly disagree and say that I'm happy in my PhD. I like doing research every day and having freedom to work when and where I want, on what I want. It's much better than the year I worked as a software developer working on things I found boring and repetitive. I would definitely say I've had fun. Of course, it's not always fun, and I know I've been lucky as far as advisor and project randomness. But the harshness of the link you posted seems unnecessarily severe.
kazinator 8y ago
I think that for many people, a Ph. D. is years of grueling, stressful work while living on a low income.
tranchms 8y ago
I have many friends in PhD programs, including CalTech, Stanford, and Berkeley, pursuing CS, Genetics, Biomededical Engineering, and EE. To characterize their program is “fun” is a gross mischaracterization, and demonstrates a serious misunderstanding of the rigors involved in any technical/science/engineering PhD pursuit. PhD programs are hard. They’re often lonely. They’re frustrating. They’re tedious. And there’s a tremendous amount of pressure. And it’s academia: highly bureaucratic and political and often unfair. Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. On the other hand, my friends getting the PhDs in subjects such as education (Stanford) and conservation biology (Mississippi State) have described it as the highlight of their life. After their first two years, they’re basically getting paid to do whatever they want. They audit classes. Apply to grants. Travel. And they write.
- BeetleB 8y ago
  >PhD programs are hard. They’re often lonely. They’re frustrating. They’re tedious. And there’s a tremendous amount of pressure. And it’s academia: highly bureaucratic and political and often unfair. >Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. This is mostly a recent phenomenon in engineering. I went to a top school and left almost a decade ago. While advisors like what you described existed, roughly half of them were not like that. It really was fun, and relatively relaxed.
- gh02t 8y ago
  > Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. I mean, should you really get a PhD without a serious passion for the subject? I won't disagree one bit that it's not for everybody. Speaking as someone wrapping up an engineering PhD from a good school though, I enjoyed it quite a lot and I think most of the people I work with enjoyed doing their PhD. It was not easy, but it was interesting and rewarding. The environment varies a lot depending on the school and the adviser. Some programs are indeed quite toxic, but there are also plenty that are challenging, but fulfilling and nurturing.
  - projektir 8y ago
gnulinux 8y ago
> PhD is probably more fun, though. Being a PhD student in something like Stanford, MIT, Berkeley can be fun in some way, but in some other ways it's mind blowingly stressful. Working in $BigTech can be boring, but it's usually almost 0 stress.

metaphor 8y ago

>> PhD is probably more fun, though. These notes[1]--written by Prof. Comer of Purdue--and over a year of introspection ultimately led me to decide against the PhD path (EE, not CS). To be sure, the words fun, happy, and rich were used precisely zero times. It's a humbling quick read for anyone else out there considering. [1] https://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html https://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html

Invictus0 8y ago
The word "joy" is used, to be fair.
notafraudster 8y ago
The notes are very apt, but it's worth noting that a PhD is so fun that the people who finish do so in spite of all the misery described in that essay. It's the best and worst decision of your life.
majos 8y ago
As a PhD student, I'll lightly disagree and say that I'm happy in my PhD. I like doing research every day and having freedom to work when and where I want, on what I want. It's much better than the year I worked as a software developer working on things I found boring and repetitive. I would definitely say I've had fun. Of course, it's not always fun, and I know I've been lucky as far as advisor and project randomness. But the harshness of the link you posted seems unnecessarily severe.

kazinator 8y ago

I think that for many people, a Ph. D. is years of grueling, stressful work while living on a low income.

tranchms 8y ago

I have many friends in PhD programs, including CalTech, Stanford, and Berkeley, pursuing CS, Genetics, Biomededical Engineering, and EE. To characterize their program is “fun” is a gross mischaracterization, and demonstrates a serious misunderstanding of the rigors involved in any technical/science/engineering PhD pursuit. PhD programs are hard. They’re often lonely. They’re frustrating. They’re tedious. And there’s a tremendous amount of pressure. And it’s academia: highly bureaucratic and political and often unfair. Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. On the other hand, my friends getting the PhDs in subjects such as education (Stanford) and conservation biology (Mississippi State) have described it as the highlight of their life. After their first two years, they’re basically getting paid to do whatever they want. They audit classes. Apply to grants. Travel. And they write.

BeetleB 8y ago
>PhD programs are hard. They’re often lonely. They’re frustrating. They’re tedious. And there’s a tremendous amount of pressure. And it’s academia: highly bureaucratic and political and often unfair. >Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. This is mostly a recent phenomenon in engineering. I went to a top school and left almost a decade ago. While advisors like what you described existed, roughly half of them were not like that. It really was fun, and relatively relaxed.
gh02t 8y ago
> Unless you possess a serious passion for the subject, you’re unlikely to survive. I mean, should you really get a PhD without a serious passion for the subject? I won't disagree one bit that it's not for everybody. Speaking as someone wrapping up an engineering PhD from a good school though, I enjoyed it quite a lot and I think most of the people I work with enjoyed doing their PhD. It was not easy, but it was interesting and rewarding. The environment varies a lot depending on the school and the adviser. Some programs are indeed quite toxic, but there are also plenty that are challenging, but fulfilling and nurturing.
- projektir 8y ago

gnulinux 8y ago

> PhD is probably more fun, though. Being a PhD student in something like Stanford, MIT, Berkeley can be fun in some way, but in some other ways it's mind blowingly stressful. Working in $BigTech can be boring, but it's usually almost 0 stress.