Innovation is learned, but it’s learned through a diverse set of experiences (which most incoming PhD students lack). From my experience working in research, a

Innovation is learned, but it’s learned through a diverse set of experiences (which most incoming PhD students lack). From my experience working in research, a PhD primarily teaches you to communicate simple ideas in innovative sounding language. In that sense, it’s closer to sales than invention. Of course there are innovative people in a research program but far fewer than an undergrad program in my opinion. A PhD only gives you the opportunity to innovate on a broader scale, which is why there is more visibility when you succeed. The last thing I’ll say is that it is challenging to be truly innovative in academia due to the peer review process. Especially in certain fields today, reviewers resort to certain heuristics right pattern match for credibility rather than take time to assess the inventiveness of the idea. It is a very noisy process and truly innovative papers don’t get published that easily.