3 ms·

The opportunity cost is a LIFE cost. Friends getting phd's - poorer, later start in life to almost everything (family, house etc) and the job market is not gre

• _jal 8y ago
  Of the people I know who have or are finishing PhDs, about half are happy with the choice. The commonality seems to be that the happy ones really love their chosen field - they'd rather play and work on whatever topic than anything else. One is making absurd gobs of money, but she also really loves her niche. Another, less universal aspect is that many folks I know who went for one have attenuated interest in typically 'normal' life-goals - one or more of things like marriage, kids, 2.4 picket fences, etc. are either not part of the plan or substantially less important to them than to other people. (Though this may be bias introduced by me, because I also fit that description, and family-less folks over a certain age tend to find each other.)