
Is a GED More Valuable Than a PhD? - robg
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-13/is-a-ged-more-valuable-than-a-phd/full/
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scott_s
They only talk to people with Ph.D.s in the humanities. Getting a job related
to, say, a Ph.D. in English has always been hard.

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smanek
A PhD, even in the hard sciences, is rarely worth while monetarily. Most
people driven/smart enough to successfully complete a PhD at a top school
would also excel in the corporate world (or law/business/med school).
Financially, it probably isn't a good investment.

But, if you love your field, it does qualify you to do more interesting work
and could still make the rest of your career more fun for you.

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mechanical_fish
I don't disagree with this, but I will say that the argument has lost a lot of
its punch since all the air went out of the investment banks and the real
estate agencies, and their former employees were reduced to wandering the
landscape carrying signs: WILL INFLATE BUBBLES FOR FOOD.

A hard science Ph.D. is a bad financial investment. But, as bad investments
go, you could do much, much worse.

The bigger problem that afflicts a lot of Ph.Ds -- especially the ones in this
article -- is not so much financial as spiritual: They have a gauzy vision of
the Intellectual Lifestyle that they just can't let go of. I'm fortunate in
that I didn't emerge from grad school expecting to be raptured into the
Academy. Studying engineering was a very helpful dose of reality, as was the
emerging Internet, which made it possible to sit at a desk deep inside the
university and still experience the words of people who had non-academic jobs
and were _enthusiastic_ about them, like Greenspun and, later, Spolsky and PG.

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puzzle-out
English phd students tend to be quite a despondant lot (I have one, but
avoided most of the other students on the course). One major advantage of
doing a phd in the humanities now (providing you get funding) is the
flexibility. I knew about the job prospects for English phds before I started,
but I was fascinated by the period and was offered a scholarship, so thought
why not, but I also used the spare time I had to set up an internet company -
which we sold for a modest amount the same week I passed my viva. People worry
too much about following the herd - partly because they read too many articles
like this.

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noodle
more valuable? no.

i feel like the article should be addressing is whether or not a PhD is worth
the investment. for many people: no, its not.

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redorb
The question I think is based on relative things; so for some it possibly
could be. Your question is also very important.

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medearis
I've met several startup founders who say the best candidates are the ones who
get into top technical Ph.D. programs and then drop out to join startups. Even
in technical fields, it seems that the value of the Ph.D. is sometimes not in
the specific knowledge gained, but in their value as an indication of merit...
i.e. few Ph.D. grads go on to work on their thesis.

I also second the comment about Ph.D's in the humanities -- for the most part,
they are a set up for a job in academia.

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tokenadult
Yes, many private industry employers like "all but dissertation" applicants,
who have a combination of technical knowledge and orientation toward private
industry rather than academia.

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cool-RR
Why are all the examples females who study humanities?

