Be Excellent To Each Other

I can't decide whether or not I should get a doctorate.

I went to university so I wouldn't have to get a job. Now that I'm in my final year of my BSc., my mum has given me the 'GO GET A JOB' thing :(.

Should I get a doctorate?

I thought this topic title read 'decorate or not', and I was about to advise you on nice shades of paint.

Most disappointing .

My room has just been decorated. It's now got nice sky blue wallpaper up to the rail and a thick dark blue carpet.

The bathroom does need decorating though...

I think you should. It doesn't sound like you are ready to do a real job yet. So put it off that much longer.

Malc

You have three choices:
Academia forever;
Getting a job;
Starvation;

What, exactly, is wrong with a job? What don't you like about the idea of "working"? Have you had any sort of job before?

ANSWER ME.

MrD spends all his time making DS games, and being excellent and so on. Having a job would probably get in the way of that.

Unless you have a dream job lined up that getting a doctorate is either a necessity for or would help you get it, then I think it's time to enter the real world and get a job.
I felt exactly the same as you when I left university (and before), but unless this is going to help you get a better job then you're just getting yourself into more debt.

You can always go back if real life proves to be an epic fail.

If you can fund it, I definitely would - I'd go for one myself but at 35, and even in my not-exactly-minted job, I'd be giving up a fair amount and it seems too much trouble. But I'd love to be a real Dr; so if you have the desire, now is the best time, for sure, you'll only have more and more barriers in your way in future.

Plus it doesn't absolutely close the door for 3 years - you might specialise in an area and become employable/employed in that area and end up not finishing but quite happy with where you are. I don't think it'll exactly be like avoiding work - the best way to complete one seems to be to treat it as a working thing, to save it leaking crazily into every part of your life and becoming unmanageable - but it does sound more like it's your bag right now.

You get paid for doing PhDs usually. Not loads, but enough to survive, like. I was going to do one but I was already megamega poor, and so got a job instead. Yay. or boo?

I really want a doctorate but that's because my surname is Procter and it would sound badass.

The only name to beat Doctor Proctor would be Doctor Death.

Please tell me your surname is Death, Mr D.

D for Death? Is it, is it?

One of my best friends at university was called Proctor. He was studying medicine.

Being a PhD student counts as a job doesn't it? Certainly the ones I've known got paid a salary for it.

I got £13.5K (tax free) for doing a PhD.

Ask me in a month or two whether doing a PhD was a good idea.

Though it is always said that doing a PhD because you don't know what else to do is a bad idea, so if thats your reasoning I'ld say no.

If you want to learn the subject and you don't care if nothing comes from it after then go for it.

I also earned about £15 an hour doing tutorials during my PhD, which was my only taxable income and hence was tax free as I earned less than £4k a year doing it. So bottom line was, I was taking home about as much money as someone on about £22-25k salary.

Totally this. I will write some more on this over the next couple of days, Mr D. Actually I think I've written some stuff on this before.

Surely the salary changes?
Also: The £bazillions per hour for demonstrating is a mega-bonus that all grad students get to induldge in.

It's fixed for three years at the start of the PhD. I had a bit less than Lave is quoting, as I did mine in 2001-2004.

I actually stopped tutoring halfway through my second year as I was making more money running an IT consultancy on the side.

Mine has london weighting which I think added a grand,

Our last PhD discussion had a long post from me about what it was like:
viewtopic.php?p=7971#p7971

I don't like the idea of being obligated to do something on a regular basis. I have enough trouble trying to brush my teeth regularly. Starvation works for me, at least it's simple. (And I wouldn't have to worry about the teeth as much either.)

I worked for a year at in the 'Special Projects' department at Sony Liverpool doing demo disc programming, and I also spent a few months with Liverpool Studio doing stuff for Wipeout HD (Check the credits for yourself!).

PhDs need stupendous self-discipline around making yourself do stuff or you'll get hugely behind. Frankly, turning up to work every day for 7.5 hours was easier.

Crap.

From my experience (I DIDNT do a Ph.D. and no immediate plans to either) are, in breif, this:


Do not do one unless you

- know the exact subject area and you have a genuine, large, interest in it.
- have the commiment to work all hours of the day. It is like a job in that you get a salary, however, youll be taking that work home both physically ( writing in all your spare hours) and mentally (not being able to sleep thinking about it)
- definitely know that a career down the line will be unacheivable without one.

Id say the last one is definitely moot. Sure, lots of jobs advertise a requirement for having a PhD. Mostly in academia this is required - "postdoc" jobs, yeah for sure. However, in industry, if you have about 3 or more years work experience you can be just as valid if not moreso a candidate.

Everyone I know that did a PhD talks negatively of it in some ways, mainly in the areas of stress stress worry and stress. Its a hard slog, one that will last the best part of 4 years, and youll come out into a job paying maybe £5k more than a non-phd person (at least what Ive seen in science). However, in the 3-4 years, someone could have worked their way up a ladder to the tune of more than £5k.

Then again if you really want to be called Dr its the only way to go.

For me personally, in my career as a scientist, i dont regret it at all.
In my recent interviews I have been speicifically asked why didnt I do a PhD, and quite kindly its been regarded that my academic results were better than most people who do PhD's - so obviously I would be more than capable of the challenge. To this I answered a combination of the above, and so far I dont feel disadvantaged.

In fact, I am down to me and one other person for a job advertised for a PhD candidate.
So there you go!

Just my experiences.

AS a parting shot id say if you sole motivation to do a PhD is to avoid a job, then you will fail to complete it.

Does _every_ PhD in every discipline pay the same? Just curiouso. I always assumed it was just down to the individual departments! How wrong I was.

ALSO: If you do want to avoid a job but don't fancy the massive, long hard slog that is a PhD... how about just doing a masters? Especially a taught-masters rather than a research one. It;s just like uni but there's less people in your year... (and of course, all the funding issues that come with it)

Lace says a lot of truth there.

I did a PhD because I wanted to spend at least a few years being an astronomer. I don't know know if I want (or can) continue in the field, but having been one for 4 years was awesome and reward enough.

It's bloody hard work, and not the kind of work i'm probably best suited too. So doing one for the promise of future work, or to avoid current work, isn't a good idea.

I think PhDs in different fields pay roughly the same, but it depends who is funding you. If it isn't a science it might not even be funded...

One of my university lecturers was Dr. Love. He had his own entrance music.

I'd do it only if you have huge interest in the subjecty and want to stay in it AND get a good supervisor.


But I no longer see myself as a scientist.

Did he study Magnetic Attraction?