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During my time in a computer science PhD program at an American university (2003-2010), my stipend maxed out at $23k a year. That was not competitive compared t
by scott_s 5y ago
During my time in a computer science PhD program at an American university (2003-2010), my stipend maxed out at $23k a year. That was not competitive compared to having a normal job, nor would I have felt comfortable supporting anyone else.
Adjuncts professors teach at American universities on a course-by-course contract basis. These people usually have PhDs. Some would like tenure track positions. But it’s generally a career dead-end.
I suspect your experience is from Europe, and I don’t think it generalizes to the US.
- cycomanic 5y agoBut I never meant to say my experience generalizes. I simply meant my statement to provide a counterpoint, that the points brought by the OP are not generally true. I agree that the US "in general" (again simplified) seems to be worse regarding PhD pay, but AFAIK there are significant variations across fields even in the US (i.e. engineering PhD students get paid significantly better than most others for example).
- scott_s 5y agoYes, engineering PhD students get paid significantly better in the US. It's still very low compared to what people can get with a normal full-time job, and few people would be comfortable supporting anyone but themselves on it.