4 ms·

Any decent grad department will give the grad students a tuition waiver and stipend so it's actually the opposite of a pyramid scheme. In a pyramid scheme, you

Any decent grad department will give the grad students a tuition waiver and stipend so it's actually the opposite of a pyramid scheme. In a pyramid scheme, you pay to join the pyramid. In academia, the pyramid pays you. I spent two years in a grad department in Boston that paid me to hang out and read books and occasionally grade papers. It probably wasn't the best life decision but there wasn't any exploitation.

bitcoinmoney 7y ago
Especially for EE anc CS programs. I came from a 3rd world country and a full time job there is still worse than a 1500/month grad student pay that has opportunity for 6 digit at graduation. Just like anything in life, you have to research before jumping in.
Waterluvian 7y ago
Yeah my MSc paid for itself. The only real cost to me was two years not in the workforce.
klipt 7y ago
Is it really free given the labor they get from you? Say your labor could get you $100k from a tech company but you're getting a $20k stipend + $20k fee remission from a university to do coding instead, aren't they benefitting from underpaying you by $60k?
- hopler 7y ago
  Tech companies have more leverage. And the still obviously profit from employing you. Sure some jobs pay better than others, but that doesn't make every non-highest-paying job a pyramid scheme. The claim has no logic to it.
- dymk 7y ago
  The opportunity cost is offset by the student wanting to work in academia more than the industry. I know several grad students who know full well they’d be paid more at Google, but enjoy doing research at a lower salary far more. Money isn’t the only value you get out of a job.
rounce 7y ago
And how much did you pay in tuition fees and housing costs?
- floren 7y ago
  > Any decent grad department will give the grad students a tuition waiver
jostmey 7y ago
These students could probably make a lot more on the open market. The Universities advertise it as a good deal, when in truth it is not
jhbadger 7y ago
Yes, that's true. But what is pyramidish about grad school is the the idea that most doctoral students have going in that they are going to get a tenure track position at the end. That can't work because one professor may mentor dozens of grad students over time, and while universities may be growing, they aren't growing that fast. Of course being a professor isn't the only thing you can do with a doctorate, and lately schools are pointing out that you can go into industry or become a patent lawyer or whatever, but except in maybe CS or engineering, that isn't typically what people wanted to get a doctorate for.

bitcoinmoney 7y ago

Especially for EE anc CS programs. I came from a 3rd world country and a full time job there is still worse than a 1500/month grad student pay that has opportunity for 6 digit at graduation. Just like anything in life, you have to research before jumping in.

Waterluvian 7y ago

Yeah my MSc paid for itself. The only real cost to me was two years not in the workforce.

klipt 7y ago

Is it really free given the labor they get from you? Say your labor could get you $100k from a tech company but you're getting a $20k stipend + $20k fee remission from a university to do coding instead, aren't they benefitting from underpaying you by $60k?

hopler 7y ago
Tech companies have more leverage. And the still obviously profit from employing you. Sure some jobs pay better than others, but that doesn't make every non-highest-paying job a pyramid scheme. The claim has no logic to it.
dymk 7y ago
The opportunity cost is offset by the student wanting to work in academia more than the industry. I know several grad students who know full well they’d be paid more at Google, but enjoy doing research at a lower salary far more. Money isn’t the only value you get out of a job.

rounce 7y ago

And how much did you pay in tuition fees and housing costs?

floren 7y ago
> Any decent grad department will give the grad students a tuition waiver

jostmey 7y ago

These students could probably make a lot more on the open market. The Universities advertise it as a good deal, when in truth it is not

jhbadger 7y ago

Yes, that's true. But what is pyramidish about grad school is the the idea that most doctoral students have going in that they are going to get a tenure track position at the end. That can't work because one professor may mentor dozens of grad students over time, and while universities may be growing, they aren't growing that fast. Of course being a professor isn't the only thing you can do with a doctorate, and lately schools are pointing out that you can go into industry or become a patent lawyer or whatever, but except in maybe CS or engineering, that isn't typically what people wanted to get a doctorate for.