pouët.net

Really depends on the country. In Russia if you have a PhD and you are working for a government establishment you are entitled to a larger salary, no matter if your job is of any relevance to what your PhD is about. Meaning that if the salary for the position is x, you will get x+15%.

Other than that, I dunno. I personally went for PhD but eventually felt that science is not my type of thing and left. It sort of says something about how good you are with the subject, but in my opinion all those PhDs and labels only confuse people. We all make mistakes and if you are good at smth, I dunno why you should have a label put on you.

I've just seen many cases where blind faith in people just because they had PhDs led to wrong decisions.

so we can conclude that a Ph.D. entitles you to open up a shitload of moronic threads on pouet!

Depends on the context really, usually only medical doctors (which is not the same as a US M.D.) get to be called Doktor.

Vanity and prestige surely is not an unimportant motivator for people to go there. Certainly not for the money.

I guess knowing the difference between being something and having something, for one.

-Hello I'm a PhD.
-And I'm a PC.
-???
-Profit.

I can tell you my story:

Prior to starting on the phd (which I did in January 2004) I had a bachelor and masters in engineering and comp. science, I was working in the games industry and enjoying a quiet, but not very fulfilling life.

I finished the phd in 2007 (which did cost me alot of money, about 22k E in fees and alot alot more in lost wages) and moved into a different industry altogether. I'm now in healthcare doing what I consider alot more important things than what I did before. Important in the greater scheme of things, not just for me and my pocket but also for world ("we are the woooorld, we are the peopleee")

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was lucky to have worked with excellent people (supervisors and department). I met and kept contact with key people in the industry. I travelled alot, presented alot and acquired a great wealth of knowledge in my profession. I also found out what I *don't* know, why I don't and why I should or not do something about it. You don't get this knowledge simply from a university degree.


It wasn't the toughest thing I've ever done. It's not even what I show to people when they ask me "so what do you do" (this is reserved for demos, them being closer to my heart too), but it was a great lesson in surviving. Many things can go wrong during the course and you can be left without your money and your degree (and your time). A phd stresses you in many ways not just in terms of produced knowledge and ability to write some text.

In my industry it is rather imperative to hold a research degree. I'm not saying that you won't get hired otherwise but I can see a glass ceiling, sometimes regardless of your ability. I don't agree with that, but that's how things work. It is not uncommon for companies to have more than 50% of stuff holding a research degree. In other industries it might actually be quite the opposite: one would be suspicious of hiring a phd to work on a (lets say) petty game in a small company - it shows desperation.

The other thing about a phd is that, unlike a generic degree, it is more appreciable across different countries so it can be a ticket for a young, brave person to travel and work in high profile jobs.


Last thing: entry requirements for the european space agency (for a position as an astronaut) were, amongst others, to hold a phd *or* to be a fighter pilot. I know that because I applied (but didn't get the job - bastards !!)

navis in space.. now that would've been interesting.. :)

oh, and as for the main topic: you get all the girls.. ;) ;) ;)

I think, in maths, not even my looks would help people overcome the barrier of having a PhD.

healthcare people unite \o/

Now, go make a demo about it!

(sorry - had to be said!)

Unfortunately I feel the same, before and after that phd... but you are free to call me dr. chromcrack no And no, you don't get all the girls and you are not partying all the time when you work at the university.

I bet many students at your univerity have a (secret) crush on dr.love :)

I hope so...

in the scientific community a Ph.D. actually allows you to do scientific work: publications, touring the world, all that stuff. otherwise you probably do more engineering and/or facilitating (in some cases that can pay good as well). outside of the community a Ph.D. go nicely with your suit and lease car but has no real use (only when consulting in the scientific/engineering world).

I find it interesting that most people talking in this thread are non-trolls. Yet most of them prove themselves happily talking about stuff they do not have a clue about.

As opposed to you, I suppose.

do it if it is the right thing for you to do. if you want to do pure science and think you are good enough to make a meaningful contribution in a scientific (university) setting. do not do it for the title or money. it is not hard to fake your way to it but then you are doing it for all the wrong reasons and you are wasting your time - and other peoples tax money. if you think you are good enough for serious science - go for it! for a job - be really good at it, and you will do way better without a title.

do it if you'd like three years of extensive university work, where you may dwelve in stuff no one else knows (yes, it is rewarding).

don't do it for the money. it may be a bit corny, but no job is worth doing "only for the money".

from my experience most phd's don't work in the field in which they have studied. i know a few people who come from a computer science phd studying detailed algorithms, or similiar, that work as ordinary programmers - not guru phd programmer gods :-)

i fully agree that no job is worth doing for the money. man made the money money never made the man.

i think it's better to learn shit by trial and error. but life doesn't work that way. you should get phd. just because people look at that as a position of some power. i have no degrees and people look at me like i'm nothing. yet i am full capable of running my cigarettes through a coffee maker an killing a bunch of people that way. i'm not advocating violence. but, i'm saying. just because you don't have a degree doesn't mean you can't think for yourself. but, if you want credit. you need the degree.

I'm totally with Smash on this one. That was my main motivation at least. :)

I think the benefit of having a PhD is not as much the degree itself as it is the implications of you being able to achieve one (i.e. "He has a PhD, so he must be really smart"). Then again, for many jobs, it is just as important that you can actually do something (e.g. you are a skilled and efficient coder). The PhD degree doesn't necessarily show that in itself.

... and the free sausages. Don't forget the free sausages.

in finland doctors can have a sword for rituals.

It's a fucking expensive sword btw. :)

But seriously now, the motivation and benefits depend on each individual, their own situation and goals. I personally just have a perversion for research. I want to keep doing it, and in the research field the PhD is a pretty given (one could say mandatory) step to keep one's career going.

Besides, I'm lucky enough to work at a semi-business-oriented research institute which actually pays for me to do my PhD research and funds my conference trips and publications, without imposing any teaching duties. I enjoy my work is fun and the pay is quite decenl. So personally, I see no reason NOT to aim for the funny hat and the sword. :)

For me, it's the challenge -- nothing more, nothing less.