I had the same experience. I was in my undergrad set on making physics a career. Pursuing a PhD is like becoming a line cook at a McDonald's financially. The st

I had the same experience. I was in my undergrad set on making physics a career. Pursuing a PhD is like becoming a line cook at a McDonald's financially. The state of physics graduate schools is a giant pyramid scheme. You are more or less encouraged to drop out/avoid starting in the first place by nearly everyone involved in the process. I'm not going to deny its not a bit selfish or maybe even shortsighted, but I made more money my first year out of college (as a developer) than I would as a tenured professor at most universities or colleges. Probably 2x what I would be making as a post-doc at age 35. 5x what I would be making from age 22-30. That being said, I've always fed coding is not a good long term plan and that I will inevitably replaced by a couple of fresh grads. Without specialization, there's no real job security other than a thriving tech sector.