This ^^. I got a masters at one U, and was ensconced at another U for the Ph.D. by then. Actually that was the year that I started at the new U, and they told

This ^^. I got a masters at one U, and was ensconced at another U for the Ph.D. by then. Actually that was the year that I started at the new U, and they told me, 2 weeks before I started, that they expected me to take and pass the Ph.D. qual exam. Which was in 2 weeks. I did, but it was not a fun 2 weeks. That was ... er ... ah ... 28 years ago. I've used the Ph.D., outside of press releases and presentations, mebbe a few times since then. Has nothing to do with my career. My advice to people considering Ph.D.'s ... if you seriously want to be called Dr., then sure. If you want to pursue tenure track, have your head examined, and then sure. Just remember, similar odds to lottery games. If you want to do industrial research, sure. I actually wrote about this recently, with some observations about Ph.D.s in industry[1]. More seriously, I do occasionally reflect upon the opportunity cost, the lost earning time, lost wages, the later start to my family, ... [1] https://scalability.org/2018/07/typecasting-and-the-trust-us-factor/ https://scalability.org/2018/07/typecasting-and-the-trust-us...