Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?

But, here's the important quote:

> After I acquire my PhD, I surmise that I would go to industry.

Go into industry first. Why do I say this? I've been involved in hiring for about 8 years, and I've only seen a very small amount of candidates with PhDs. (They usually come from inexperienced recruiters who don't know how to hire software engineers.) The candidates fresh from a PhD program usually have very little experience in complicated software engineering, and thus will work at the same level as a recent college grad. The only time they are useful is if their field of study directly applies to the work we're doing; but I've never seen a PhD candidate like that.

The thing to realize is this: (Computer Science) != (Software Engineering). Industry mostly does software engineering; it only gets into "computer science" if you're writing a compiler, a database, ect. So, unless you pick a field of study that industry will need when you graduate, you'll end up being as useful as an entry-level CS grad.

BTW: If you find something interesting, you can always leave industry to go back to school. It's critical, however, that you set up your finances to do that. Going back to school will be a huge paycut, so you need to make sure that you don't have a big mortgage, large car payment, ect. (That being said, assume that you'll work for 5-15 years before going for a PhD, so if you buy a nice car now, and pay it off, you'll start your PhD program with a free used car in good condition.)

Number two, if the only reason you want a PhD is for more money, you won't make and it won't help. If you look at the earnings of people with a PhD vs. people without one (but who could have gotten one), the ones who didn't are pretty even because they have four/five years of work experience when their friends are just getting out of their PhD programs.

If you don't like doing reading and research, then you probably won't make it through the PhD. Even worse, the "interesting" work that you get to do in industry with a PhD vs. without is basically more of the same, because all of the stuff that isn't like that is just as open to people with a PhD vs without.

It sounds like the PhD really isn't for you. Get out there and go apply what you've learned thus far.

My understanding is that it's possible to avoid this through TA or RA positions with tuition waivers, at least at reputable programs. So I think the question of debt should be considered somewhat separately (though not entirely separately, as this insidious form of debt doesn't existing the world of stupid mortgages or credit card irresponsibility, where at least you have the topic to collapse in bankruptcy and, 7+ years later, start anew. Forever debt lives in the hellacious realm of student loans, divorces, and Dickens novels).

I mastered out of my PhD program, largely partly because I got a good job outside with money and fun projects, and partly because I was struggling academically. I do occasionally "wish" (eh, not really) that I had a PhD, but that's because I work in a university (although in a technical track). I accept that research positions aren't open to MS holders in Universities (or in some industry positions), but the degree ceiling definitely extends into non-research positions that would be available to MS (or BS or no degree) holders in non-university tracks. This, however, is my own deal. If I don't like it, I need to leave, so I wouldn't expect anyone to give this complaint much force.

I would extend this thinking even further...

Most industry jobs aren't even practicing "Software Engineering". Algorithms, data structures, discrete math... that's totally outside of the day to day work for most "Software Engineers"

If you're building an app (web, mobile, desktop) it's largely plugging pieces together nowadays. You're likely using libraries that were built using "Software Engineering", but the end user practice of assembling those pieces into a functional user-friendly application is more akin to a construction worker assembling the 2x4s to build a house.