

Tis the season for Grad School Advice - jchonphoenix
http://vonahn.blogspot.com/2009/12/advice-on-grad-school-applications.html

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reedlaw
_To save all the kiddies from embarrassment and rejection (which typically
implies you'll just end up making more money at some tech company)[...]_

I've never heard this one before. Usually the myth goes that people who go
right into the workforce earn on average the same or slightly more than those
who go into grad school. But what these myths don't take into account is how
crucial timing is. I graduated from college in 2001 which just happened to be
a terrible time to find a job. I was able to make ends meet for 2 years before
finding a steady job, but I would have probably made out better going to grad
school. Either way, I wouldn't have made any money.

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ephermata
Yes, you're right, 2001 was a tough year to graduate. That being said, von
Ahn's focusing on PhD programs, where the time to finish may be as short as 3
years, but more likely is in the 5-7 range. While these programs do pay a
stipend, if you stay in the program for the entire time (instead of dropping
in, waiting out the recession, and then leaving), the total compensation over
those 5-7 years is likely much less than you would make in industry if you'd
gone to industry straight out, even taking timing into account.

One key thing is that a "great" EECS grad student stipend, say the one offered
by the National Science Foundation fellowship, is (or was) $25K. Most tech
salaries are 2x or 3x that or more. A lot of grad students make less. So if
you made $0 for the first two years pursuing industry, then landed a job at
$50K, you've made up those two years. (Not really, of course, due to tax
issues and the fact you had to defer the money, many grad students make less,
etc.)

Another key thing is that if you stay in a PhD program for the full 5-7 years,
the economy may change radically around you. So if you stick with it, you
forego the higher-paying jobs available at that time. Of course, you could
always just drop out and start a company or something at that time...plenty of
people do.

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paulgb
From an anonymous comment on the blog post:

> I heard of one similar to #9. It said something like "If I were adCMUted to
> CMU." I don't think that guy was adCMUted.

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luchak
The guide that basically walked me through the entire application process was
also written by a CMU professor. It's a much drier read, but, if you're
applying to Ph.D. programs in computer science, it's gold.

<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf>

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rflrob
Isn't it a little late in the season for grad school advice? I know there are
schools where the deadline has already passed, and even assuming you could get
together an application for one of the ones that hasn't, it would be poor form
to ask for a recommendation this late.

