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As a followup, what about a PhD in Computer Science? I've got a pretty solid job right now that pays a nice amount of money, but I don't really have the time or

As a followup, what about a PhD in Computer Science? I've got a pretty solid job right now that pays a nice amount of money, but I don't really have the time or opportunity to learn some of the really cutting edge stuff out there while working 50+ hours/week at my day job. Is there a reasonable ROI for a PhD in the industry?

tptacek 12y ago
The conventional wisdom is "no", usually accompanied by anecdotes about firms that assigned negative hiring weights to candidates with PhDs, based on the idea that the work processes you internalize in order to obtain a doctorate are radically different than what's required by commercial software development.
- Jemaclus 12y ago
  Yeah, that's what I've heard as well. Bummer.
CocaKoala 12y ago
The story that I've heard isn't that companies don't like to hire PhDs, but that you can get a pretty solid job with a nice salary, work there for six years, and then you've earned six years of nice money, you have six years of experience, and between that and raises it's not hard to find yourself in a pretty solid job with a pretty nice salary. Alternatively, you can get a PhD, spend six years living on a stipend, and get hired into a pretty solid job with a pretty nice salary. Best case is that you end up in the same place as the folks who didn't get the PhD, but they have six years of earnings and savings behind them, and you're not getting paid enough to make up that deficit. I was offered a chance to become a PhD candidate and they were very clear that it wouldn't drastically increase my earning potential and that the opportunity cost would be pretty high; the benefits they quoted at me were things like the opportunity to do the cutting edge research myself instead of reading about it, a chance to meet a bunch of people who would become the titans of the field, and a chance to stay in the environment of academia.
- Jemaclus 12y ago
  I mostly want it for personal reasons (as opposed to getting a better paying job -- my pay right now is pretty damn nice). I'm just wondering if I spend 4 years getting a PhD if I'll regret it.
  - CyberFonic 12y ago
    Most likely ... YES! A PhD is an apprenticeship to become an academic. Your thesis is but the price of admission to the race to find an academic job. The chances, even in CS, are about 1:7. It is rare to succeed in doing a PhD part time. If you do it full time then you might have trouble living a life on ramen noodles and constantly re-writing papers. You can do research without going to uni and slogging through a PhD.

tptacek 12y ago

The conventional wisdom is "no", usually accompanied by anecdotes about firms that assigned negative hiring weights to candidates with PhDs, based on the idea that the work processes you internalize in order to obtain a doctorate are radically different than what's required by commercial software development.

Jemaclus 12y ago
Yeah, that's what I've heard as well. Bummer.

CocaKoala 12y ago

The story that I've heard isn't that companies don't like to hire PhDs, but that you can get a pretty solid job with a nice salary, work there for six years, and then you've earned six years of nice money, you have six years of experience, and between that and raises it's not hard to find yourself in a pretty solid job with a pretty nice salary. Alternatively, you can get a PhD, spend six years living on a stipend, and get hired into a pretty solid job with a pretty nice salary. Best case is that you end up in the same place as the folks who didn't get the PhD, but they have six years of earnings and savings behind them, and you're not getting paid enough to make up that deficit. I was offered a chance to become a PhD candidate and they were very clear that it wouldn't drastically increase my earning potential and that the opportunity cost would be pretty high; the benefits they quoted at me were things like the opportunity to do the cutting edge research myself instead of reading about it, a chance to meet a bunch of people who would become the titans of the field, and a chance to stay in the environment of academia.

Jemaclus 12y ago
I mostly want it for personal reasons (as opposed to getting a better paying job -- my pay right now is pretty damn nice). I'm just wondering if I spend 4 years getting a PhD if I'll regret it.
- CyberFonic 12y ago
  Most likely ... YES! A PhD is an apprenticeship to become an academic. Your thesis is but the price of admission to the race to find an academic job. The chances, even in CS, are about 1:7. It is rare to succeed in doing a PhD part time. If you do it full time then you might have trouble living a life on ramen noodles and constantly re-writing papers. You can do research without going to uni and slogging through a PhD.