4 ms·

There’s no shortage of folks being sold “key steps” to high paying jobs. Maybe their meter stick is different from yours, but taking that job as the night atten

by RijilV 7y ago

There’s no shortage of folks being sold “key steps” to high paying jobs. Maybe their meter stick is different from yours, but taking that job as the night attendant at the hotel to move up the ranks or getting a salaried position as an assistant manager at Burger King as a path to a regional manager. Lots of folks trying to sell you a path to success.

asdff 7y ago
It's not like that. If you want to be hired as a staff scientist, you need a PhD. If you have an MS you can't be a staff scientist. If you have a BS you can't be a staff scientist. The most you'd get with those degrees is Research Assistant or Technician, then you will hit a ceiling in your career unless you step away from research and step more into business. This is true in academia, government labs, and the private sector, both in the U.S. and internationally. It's like if you want to be a General, you are going to have to be a Private first. There is a progression in the sciences.
- RijilV 7y ago
  that last line is what my point is. Stepping stones and prerequisites are part of many career progressions - actually quite the norm. There’s a way that academics come off which I don’t think they intend to - which is somehow their path is special and their trials are unique. They’re not.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > If you want to be hired as a staff scientist, you need a PhD. If you have an MS you can't be a staff scientist. If you have a BS you can't be a staff scientist. That's not entirely true, though as I understand it is becoming more true; there are definitely places that will promote to positions for which the normal route is a post-graduate degree based on a lesser degree plus experience (including publications under the rubric of experience). Now, university faculty positions, degree standards tend to be ironclad, though.
- caf 7y ago
  It's like if you want to be a General, you are going to have to be a Private first. There is a progression in the sciences. That's not how the military works at all. A Private is an enlisted rank, and their career path typically tops out at a level like Warrant Officer. If you want to be a General, you're going to have to start as a Lieutenant (the lowest commissioned officer).
  - jogjayr 7y ago
    I think they got their analogy slightly wrong but it makes sense. If you want a career in research, a Bachelor's or Master's degree is like enlisting. You won't progress beyond a certain level. Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today. A military academy has the added benefit of a guaranteed officer job upon graduation. No such guarantees exist for a PhD.
    - barry-cotter 7y ago
      > Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today. What proportion of officers in the US Armed Forces graduates from the military academies? A third? I very much doubt graduating from one is required to become a general. Being a great political operator is but it’s not like only military academy graduates can do that.
- willis936 7y ago
  I face this unfortunate reality. I am simply not rich enough to get a PhD. I am certainly capable and willing. So instead I work as a tech in a research group of something that interests me for wage that is still too low for my capabilities.

by RijilV 7y ago

asdff 7y ago

It's not like that. If you want to be hired as a staff scientist, you need a PhD. If you have an MS you can't be a staff scientist. If you have a BS you can't be a staff scientist. The most you'd get with those degrees is Research Assistant or Technician, then you will hit a ceiling in your career unless you step away from research and step more into business. This is true in academia, government labs, and the private sector, both in the U.S. and internationally. It's like if you want to be a General, you are going to have to be a Private first. There is a progression in the sciences.

RijilV 7y ago
that last line is what my point is. Stepping stones and prerequisites are part of many career progressions - actually quite the norm. There’s a way that academics come off which I don’t think they intend to - which is somehow their path is special and their trials are unique. They’re not.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> If you want to be hired as a staff scientist, you need a PhD. If you have an MS you can't be a staff scientist. If you have a BS you can't be a staff scientist. That's not entirely true, though as I understand it is becoming more true; there are definitely places that will promote to positions for which the normal route is a post-graduate degree based on a lesser degree plus experience (including publications under the rubric of experience). Now, university faculty positions, degree standards tend to be ironclad, though.
caf 7y ago
It's like if you want to be a General, you are going to have to be a Private first. There is a progression in the sciences. That's not how the military works at all. A Private is an enlisted rank, and their career path typically tops out at a level like Warrant Officer. If you want to be a General, you're going to have to start as a Lieutenant (the lowest commissioned officer).
- jogjayr 7y ago
  I think they got their analogy slightly wrong but it makes sense. If you want a career in research, a Bachelor's or Master's degree is like enlisting. You won't progress beyond a certain level. Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today. A military academy has the added benefit of a guaranteed officer job upon graduation. No such guarantees exist for a PhD.
  - barry-cotter 7y ago
    > Whereas going to grad school for a PhD is like attending a military academy - which is the only path to becoming a general today. What proportion of officers in the US Armed Forces graduates from the military academies? A third? I very much doubt graduating from one is required to become a general. Being a great political operator is but it’s not like only military academy graduates can do that.
willis936 7y ago
I face this unfortunate reality. I am simply not rich enough to get a PhD. I am certainly capable and willing. So instead I work as a tech in a research group of something that interests me for wage that is still too low for my capabilities.