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As someone who very recently finished his Ph.D. in CS and was working full-time as a software engineer at the same time, I must say that getting a Ph.D. is diff
by amir734jj 3y ago
As someone who very recently finished his Ph.D. in CS and was working full-time as a software engineer at the same time, I must say that getting a Ph.D. is difficult and takes a lot of willpower and dedication. It's not easy. Some people will say this person wastes years learning about this particular obscure problem, some people say this person doesn't have industry experience. But after getting a PhD myself, I have a huge respect for anyone who has a PhD. It's not easy. Too many times 5 minutes before meeting my advisor I wanted to tell him I wanted to quit or take 1 year off. I was under immense mental pressure and was having similar thoughts because my parents thought I was close to finishing but I was not. I don't know this particular person but I feel the pain he went through.
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoYa, the nightmares towards the end when you are finally writing your thesis are the worst, but it was mentally fulfilling and I guess I don’t regret it, even though my thesis will never be read by anyone else. The things you actually learn and the thing you study can be really different. I actually still have nightmares about not finishing my thesis for some reason, or having my topics rejected (although for some reason, the mental stress didn’t start until I got past that point). Design topics are the worst: you can’t measure how fast they are or how effective they are. My advice to anyone who wants to do a PhD is to get into a field where the metrics are obvious, and then lean into Goodhart’s law for all its worth (but be super honest with numbers and careful with your methodology).