Because: 1)It would allow me to do research in a field that I find interesting. 2)It would allow me to build up my research skills, enabling me to later find

Because: 1)It would allow me to do research in a field that I find interesting. 2)It would allow me to build up my research skills, enabling me to later find a job that has this balance of research and coding which I mentioned in my post. As a note, I applied this year at 4 positions which had this balance and all of them rejected me. After asking what my main disadvantage with the chosen candidate was all of them told me that he/she had a PhD in the field. 3)I would be able to see what I am capable of in solving interesting problems and expanding human knowledge. 4)I believe in general, that pushing your self to the limits (even if you fail) teaches you more compared to a comfortable situation. By that I do not obviously mean that one should put oneself in every situation that stresses him/her, but rather that one should attempt things even if they are difficult.