No! No!! "No" is "no", "No" is always "no", When I say "no" It means "a thousand times no." "No" plus "no" Equals "no". All nos lead to "No no

No! No!! "No" is "no", "No" is always "no", When I say "no" It means "a thousand times no." "No" plus "no" Equals "no". All nos lead to "No no no." Why not? Just listen to yourself: I'd much rather like to start working, doing my own projects, etc. And so you should. What's a PhD worth? Three to five years of existential despair. will a PhD get me somewhere a MA wouldn't be able to get me? Well, my Ph.D. is in EE with a concentration in semiconductor manufacturing and quantum electronics. So mine got me into labs filled with one-of-a-kind, multimillion dollar equipment, and gave me an up-close and extremely personal view of how microelectronics are made. Later, it allowed me to contribute to cancer research (cancer cells = microscopy = optics!) and spend a delightful but unrenumerative three years learning about the biosciences from the inside. None of which was fun enough for me that I wanted an actual N-year career in it, but it was certainly fun. Perhaps even fun enough to be worth the cost. Unfortunately, you're thinking about a Ph.D. in comp sci, which will get you access to a crappy desk with a PC on it, a lot of barely adequate coffee, an inferiority complex, a lack of sleep, a lack of pay, and the opportunity to write a huge tome that only a handful of other people will read. I assure you that all of these things are available to civilians at a great discount. Should I only pursue a PhD if my goal is to go in academia/research? Yes, that's what it's for. Would a MA be more advisable if I just want to pursue my entrepreneurial career? Yes. "I'm getting an M.A." is a great excuse to move to a startup hub and hang around with a bunch of smart programmers who are itching for action. So I won't talk trash about the M.A. -- go for it, if you like. The sunk costs are a lot lower, and the benefits higher. For more on this topic see http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117294 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117294 . For more gratuitous TMBG lyrics see http://www.davidkjones.net/tmbg/no/04.php http://www.davidkjones.net/tmbg/no/04.php