Misc.Dec 29, 2018
Googlewhere had

Is PhD useful ?

I joined industry straight out of undergrad, and I quite like working in the industry. Yet, there is also a 'what-if' feeling inside about having done a PhD. Also, many times, I get asked by people doing their undergrad for advices on whether they should join a PhD program or join the industry. To me, it seems that if one joins the industry and continues learning interesting topics themselves, it pays far more than a PhD program, both in monetary terms and knowledge terms. A PhD program only seems worthy if one wishes to go to academia, or maybe pursue a really specific job (like a researcher in Deepmind, etc). This seems true regardless of how prestigious the university is. At Google, I see many people with a PhD degree doing the same work as people with just a bachelor degree. It's possible I am biased here. What advantages a PhD graduate has as compared to one in industry, assuming similar intelligence, work ethics etc? Does the answer change if the university is considered an elite one vs not so elite one ?

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Facebook -unicorn- Dec 29, 2018

Yes, it is definitely helpful. You experience how slave life looks like and appreciate whatever you have next

Google where had OP Dec 29, 2018

Hehe, can you explain more ? Also, some may consider a job as a slave life. How's a life as a PhD slave different ? Less pay ?

Facebook -unicorn- Dec 29, 2018

You work crazy hours with a lot of pressures to get enough money to pay rent, food, bills. You totally broke month to month. Good luck when you are sick. Constantly worried about your future. If your advisor is not famous in the field, your are totally fucked (read as no matter how good your paper/journal is, it won’t be accepted). After 5-6-7 years, you are now over qualified for most of the jobs. You probably need to hide your phd to find a job.

Cruise Automation newstar Dec 29, 2018

Pretty spot on observations from what I hear from PhDs. There was a thread from a G/FB PhD complaining they wasted their time for the exact reasons you listed. If you can get into a workplace that's willing to fund cutting edge research and pay you 10x or more than stipend, seems like an easy decision. Have you asked any of your PhD peers?

Google where had OP Dec 29, 2018

I did. However, they all seemed happy they got a PhD. A few also told they left their earlier jobs to get a PhD. This made me feel maybe I am completely wrong in my understanding of the values of PhD.

Facebook ytr21haj Dec 29, 2018

At FB I went through the same dilemma. I was on a PhD heavy team, 3/4 regretted it strongly that I asked

Cisco xceM43 Dec 29, 2018

PhD is worth it ONLY if you really like doing research and like your research topic. Otherwise, useless.

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goodgulf Dec 30, 2018

And less than 2% of CS jobs are research, the ratio between PhD grads and research jobs is 10:1.

Amazon hy5ry Dec 29, 2018

No

Amazon 46+2 Dec 29, 2018

Yikes!

Google where had OP Dec 29, 2018

Wow, such negative emotions were completely unexpected. I mean, I thought if PhD was a losing option in comparison, it could be quantified to about 1 year at most. Kind of like what happens when one gets a bad team in a company. However, seems PhD is even more a losing option.

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slash.com Dec 30, 2018

I've enjoyed my phd, work in research now, and am happy I took that path. Can't measure the value in terms of income, but don't really care. If you're ok with that, then you don't have much to loose: if all works well, you'll get new and exciting career options. If not, you can always return to engineering.

Barefoot Networks gxxxx Dec 29, 2018

Did my PhD in a good University with a star adviser but feel it was waste of time. Now I envy my friends that joined industry straight from college. The are now Managers at FB and Google and I'm just starting at 30. Heck even faculty members (professor level) now join google (though it is L8). So even for those that love research I argue that places like Google and Fb are better. Only if you like teaching and dealing with students then waste 6 years in PhD (only in MIT or Princeton) to go to academia for half of TC you could get in industry.

Apple magikarp16 Dec 29, 2018

Yes. PhDs rock!

Capital One 💩show Dec 29, 2018

Think also about opportunity cost. Every year you spend slaving away for your thesis is one less year of salary.

Microsoft PopUpVideo Dec 29, 2018

There would have been more of a benefit for you if you’d gone straight for your PhD because PhDs can initially come in at a higher level (at least at MS). It probably wouldn’t give you as much of a bump now. If you care about levels then staying working gets you there faster. What’s your role though? Whether you’d get much more pay also depends on what options you have open in engineering, data science, or in UX Research. Also if you want to work as a researcher or on an experimental development team then having a PhD gives you more flexibility when hired, when networking, and when applying research methods (though you can teach yourself the research methods).

Google where had OP Dec 29, 2018

I am in Eng. I am not asking for myself though. I do get the feeling of missing out sometimes, I know I am not gonna go for a PhD. I was asking because I get asked this question a lot by undergrads, most of whom have no idea what/why they wanna do the PhD. I think most are attracted to the prestige of doing a PhD, or are bored of their jobs 1-2 year out of undergrad.