As a PhD student this is heavily dependent on what grants you can get. Glass door says the average student salary is $27k, so $5k less than median salary in the US and less than half of what a high school teacher makes. A PhD graduate makes, on average, ~$100K, which is within 10% of the average Software Engineer salary.
There are a lot of incentives to become a phd for us citizens. You can be called doctor. You have some level of social prestige. You can specialize in something that really interests you. Some jobs that might be appealing require a PhD. The cash incentives aren’t there. There are faster paths for larger pots fo money.
For perspective PhD students I recommend The PhD grind. If that doesn’t scare you away than maybe it’s the right path for you. Link to a discussion about the book. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4179982
There are a lot of incentives to become a phd for us citizens. You can be called doctor. You have some level of social prestige. You can specialize in something that really interests you. Some jobs that might be appealing require a PhD. The cash incentives aren’t there. There are faster paths for larger pots fo money.
For perspective PhD students I recommend The PhD grind. If that doesn’t scare you away than maybe it’s the right path for you. Link to a discussion about the book. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4179982
Dump of links where I got my dollar figures from.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/us-phd-student-salary-SRC...
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)/...
https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries
https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/high-school-teach...