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Not the parent commenter, but I agree with the sentiment. The selected portion of the earlier comment has multiple pieces that I disagree with: 1) A PhD isn't a

Not the parent commenter, but I agree with the sentiment. The selected portion of the earlier comment has multiple pieces that I disagree with: 1) A PhD isn't about writing, and 2) you are not expected to become a professor once you get a PhD in the US. A PhD isn't really about writing, it's about research. Writing is merely the means of demonstrating that you know how to do research. The way that you break something down involves finding a gap in understanding or a portion of a problem that has not been addressed. Then you find an insight that leads to potential solutions to address the gap. Then you run experiments based around the insight. It is fundamentally a way of thinking, not a way of writing. That's why it's a Doctorate of Philosophy. The actual topic that you cover for your thesis is not as important as the demonstration that you know how to think about research. It's moderately unlikely that you will be working on the same problem in industry. It's commonplace, at least in engineering programs, to ask whether you're going to go into industry or academia. Research positions in industry typically go to PhDs or Masters with a lot of experience. It is much harder to break into the research world without a PhD in the US. So I believe the original statement: > a full-time professionalized pursuit under the assumption you will be a professor is overly specific. Your future could be a professor, a researcher/scientist, or an entrepreneur.

agentcoops 5y ago
Yes, completely agreed with your corrections. Research is really the term I should have used and, as I clarified in a response above, it’s certainly true that, especially in STEM, there are at least industrial and academic tracks. I would just clarify that my only intention was to address the particular case of someone currently working in tech who would like to additionally pursue non-STEM studies for their own sake. In that case, rare but that I wish were not so, the part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs of many European nations (Germany and the UK in particular) are, on average, a better fit.
- nautilius 5y ago
  > part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs It's just getting worse and worse. I believe you're trying to argue in good faith but maybe you should just stick to stuff you know about. There is nothing about 'dissertation only' that makes these programs 'part time'. I'd argue that a good German or French university (I would guess the UK too, but I know less about that system) has more comprehensive and more stringent coursework to the MSc level than most US universities have for their PhD level. They don't do additional coursework because they're 'done'. Talk to those PhD students (and their advisors) about whether they consider that work 'part time'.
  - agentcoops 5y ago
    My last response to you as you’re obviously not arguing in good faith. The sentence that offended you is very simple. PhD programs in the UK are almost universally dissertation-only. While full-time you are expected to finish in three to four years, you can enroll part-time and finish in eight. The latter path is intended for those who are self-funded and typically already working full-time in whatever profession. An MA or MSc, with as or more stringent coursework than in the US, would be required in either case, but the MA can also be completed part-time. Look at the website of almost any English PhD program. Again, my only argument is that the EU offers more options for advanced studies alongside another career than the US, which is something I have firsthand experience with.

agentcoops 5y ago

Yes, completely agreed with your corrections. Research is really the term I should have used and, as I clarified in a response above, it’s certainly true that, especially in STEM, there are at least industrial and academic tracks. I would just clarify that my only intention was to address the particular case of someone currently working in tech who would like to additionally pursue non-STEM studies for their own sake. In that case, rare but that I wish were not so, the part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs of many European nations (Germany and the UK in particular) are, on average, a better fit.

nautilius 5y ago
> part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs It's just getting worse and worse. I believe you're trying to argue in good faith but maybe you should just stick to stuff you know about. There is nothing about 'dissertation only' that makes these programs 'part time'. I'd argue that a good German or French university (I would guess the UK too, but I know less about that system) has more comprehensive and more stringent coursework to the MSc level than most US universities have for their PhD level. They don't do additional coursework because they're 'done'. Talk to those PhD students (and their advisors) about whether they consider that work 'part time'.
- agentcoops 5y ago
  My last response to you as you’re obviously not arguing in good faith. The sentence that offended you is very simple. PhD programs in the UK are almost universally dissertation-only. While full-time you are expected to finish in three to four years, you can enroll part-time and finish in eight. The latter path is intended for those who are self-funded and typically already working full-time in whatever profession. An MA or MSc, with as or more stringent coursework than in the US, would be required in either case, but the MA can also be completed part-time. Look at the website of almost any English PhD program. Again, my only argument is that the EU offers more options for advanced studies alongside another career than the US, which is something I have firsthand experience with.