
who's leaving a PhD program for a startup? how did you come to your decision? - acheung

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dfranke
I'm not leaving one but I'm turning down an acceptance. I never really cared
about the PhD credential; grad school is mostly an excuse to spend a few years
working on cool stuff on someone else's dime. But if I work for or start a
comparably interesting startup, then I still get that, plus I have a chance to
come away rich rather than in debt.

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budu3
I got accepted into a Phd program. I'm putting of the decision for as long as
possible. Has anyone here managed to do their startup and their Phd.

~~~
acheung
Also, by no means should anyone listen to me, but if your PhD environment
(e.g. Stanford or in a top tech program), personally I would at least attend a
semester -- at the very least make some connections.

And if you're like me and being paid to go to graduate school it's more
tempting to stick around (especially if other people's research depends on you
or you have a general feeling that you're letting down people, e.g. profs that
you got you where you are now). There were times I wavered because of this but
at some point I told/convinced myself that 10 years from now these people will
understand.

People not in the situation tend to be very gung-ho and tell you things like
... do what your heart feels! seize the day! blah blah blah. I've heard it
all.

Yea, if only they were in your shoes.

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mukund
A wise guy will go for things that sounds right to him. If your interests are
at building a startup and getting a feel or experience, then pursuing it is a
good decision.

