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The complaint is that there are too many PhDs: grad students invest many years at low salary, and most (in all fields) are not able to find permanent employment

The complaint is that there are too many PhDs: grad students invest many years at low salary, and most (in all fields) are not able to find permanent employment which uses their specialized training. Unfortunately, there is little push for change from anyone but the students: in the existing system, grad students and postdocs provide research and teaching at lower cost than alternatives which are more humane to students and less wasteful of human capital. Prospective students need realistic information when they are choosing to enroll, but people choose to follow their passions at long odds in many fields (entrepreneurship, Hollywood, pro sports...). The mental model many have of PhD programs is apprenticeship; a more appropriate model might be an extended audition.

kenjackson 16y ago
This is quite different in CS programs though. Where (a) there are few post-docs. (b) grad school is a great place to connect with bright hard working CS students. It's a place where a lot of great ideas and companies come from. In some ways its a "low risk" incubator. You get paid to attend, and a stipend, in most cases. A lot of research ends up being the basis for a startup company. And if it doesn't you get a PhD, which is still very marketable. The downside of doing a PhD in CS, especially at a top 20 program, is really just the possibility that you may have hit it big in the 4-6 years you were getting your PhD. But of course you have to factor in the fact that being in grad schools opens new doors to hitting it big. Plus, at least for me, the college life is just fun, and something somewhat hard to replicate a few years out of college.
- gammarator 16y ago
  True, the transition into industry or a startup spinoff is much more direct in CS, making it a lower-risk enterprise. Even so, Matt Might (who is a CS prof) writes, 'There are few good reasons to get a Ph.D. "Because you want to become a professor" might be the only good one.' [1] [1] http://matt.might.net/articles/successful-phd-students/ http://matt.might.net/articles/successful-phd-students/

kenjackson 16y ago

This is quite different in CS programs though. Where (a) there are few post-docs. (b) grad school is a great place to connect with bright hard working CS students. It's a place where a lot of great ideas and companies come from. In some ways its a "low risk" incubator. You get paid to attend, and a stipend, in most cases. A lot of research ends up being the basis for a startup company. And if it doesn't you get a PhD, which is still very marketable. The downside of doing a PhD in CS, especially at a top 20 program, is really just the possibility that you may have hit it big in the 4-6 years you were getting your PhD. But of course you have to factor in the fact that being in grad schools opens new doors to hitting it big. Plus, at least for me, the college life is just fun, and something somewhat hard to replicate a few years out of college.

gammarator 16y ago
True, the transition into industry or a startup spinoff is much more direct in CS, making it a lower-risk enterprise. Even so, Matt Might (who is a CS prof) writes, 'There are few good reasons to get a Ph.D. "Because you want to become a professor" might be the only good one.' [1] [1] http://matt.might.net/articles/successful-phd-students/ http://matt.might.net/articles/successful-phd-students/