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As is typical on HN, most comments are about how PhDs are of little value or how academia is not what it once was, whereas the article is about how the challeng
by jszymborski 2y ago
As is typical on HN, most comments are about how PhDs are of little value or how academia is not what it once was, whereas the article is about how the challenges of getting a degree (rising living costs, slumping stipends) are causing fewer enrollments.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago> how PhDs are of little value I see this as being the same as > the article is about how the challenges of getting a degree (rising living costs, slumping stipends) are causing fewer enrollments. Also, as far as I know, this dynamic was true at least 20 years ago, when I graduated. You either did a hard science PhD and hoped to get in at a top finance/pharmaceutical/tech firm, or you toiled away as an adjunct professor for low wages with the hope of achieving a unicorn tenured position. Which is why most doctoral candidates were hopeful immigrants on student visas, and people who had work authorization mostly opted for joining the workforce.
- jszymborski 2y agoEven if we define "value" strictly in monetary terms (which is a deeply bleak outlook, but nevertheless) PhDs can be at once of great value and also out of reach for those without the access to the debt instruments required to pay for it. Of course, much like life has value outside of the monetary, PhDs are a great way to enrich your life if you don't have to financially bury yourself in debt. Notably, this is the case for people who have the good fortune of being born in places with low tuition, like much of Europe and Canada. I pay $4K in tuition and make, after tax, not much less than I was making as a junior machine learning dev.
- lotsofpulp 2y agoI meant value as in not being able to achieve other life goals due to the pursuit of a PhD, of which many could be due to insufficient funds due to prospects of low pay and high volatility.
- pjc50 2y agoIf the PhD had more value, people would be more willing to go further into debt for it. Like the rest of higher education.
- jszymborski 2y agoIf the PhD had _increasing_ value it would offset its _increasing_ cost. Furthermore, not everything is linear over every range. There's only so much debt you can put yourself into and there's only so much ROI education can promise.
- atrettel 2y agoAlmost nobody pays for a PhD. I didn't pay for mine. This isn't like student debt for undergraduate degrees, though I think the argument about the "opportunity cost" of getting a PhD has merit.