You can go back and do a PhD after working for a few years - I did this.
Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
31–40 of 258 posts
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#32As a former tech recruiter, if you want to be a data scientist, a PhD helps. So look to see if the jobs you dream about ask for a PhD.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#33Most of your post reads as if you really don't want to do a PhD, but are looking for someone to convince you to stay. We can't really help you with that.
If you really want to do a PhD, I thought I should add a clarification regarding this:
> Equally concerning to me is that I think I'd likely be miserable during the PhD process. It seems very lonely, and I don't find much enjoyment from, say, sitting in my office reading papers all day.
My PhD was by far the most intellectually stimulant job I ever had, and now that I'm in industry I find myself missing it. This is of course dependent of your research group, but some of my weekly PhD activities included
* a weekly seminar where we would all read a new paper and discuss it
* a weekly course on specific research topics - first it was Neural Networks, then it was Reinforcement Learning. We made a point of having a programming part to it, in order not to remain purely theoretical.
* optional courses on topics that each one of us found interesting
* discussions with other researchers who would come to our offices and ask for input regarding a specific problem they had
* a weekly "meeting" in which we got together to have cookies and talk about life
Add the yearly sprint to get things ready for a conference and the random tasks such as organizing a conference, and the end result was that there was always something new to keep myself busy.
Of course, not all PhDs are like mine and some people are truly miserable. But it's not a given that all PhDs will be like that.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#34This short essay[1] (with links to 26 translations now...wow!) by CS Prof. Douglas Comer of Purdue helped me find solace when I was struggling with a comparable dilemma.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#35It sounds like you're burned out, and not 100% sold on the idea of doing a PhD.
I suggest taking a break from school for a year or two, try moving to a country you like better, and reassessing what you want.
If you decide you really are interested in doing a PhD in theorem-proving, and you have talent for doing graduate research in that area, getting back onto that track should be possible.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#36Its a mind blowing thing to me that people study for that long, not really even starting their career until their 30's, to get a Ph.D - That said, if you are that close, and having this serious of thoughts about what is the right decision, and it will only take this extra 8 months to set you on the right path, then just do it. btw what country are you in?
In most countries a PhD will graduate around 24. It’s only a marathon in the US, and isn’t such a huge investment in time in other places.
> In most countries a PhD will graduate around 24
Not in Germany. I started studying at 18, so as early as possible. Finished after 5 years with my Masters degree. A PhD would've taken a minimum (!) of 3 more years, so I would've been 26 or older. If you don't have a perfect start, take more than regular study time or take longer than those 3 years, it's easy (and not considered being bad) to be 30 when you're done.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#37Anyone have any thoughts on doing a PhD in later life? I don't need a career change or salary boost, but I'm very aware I've stumbled into data science (albeit very much on the applied side) without the right fundamental maths knowledge or research mindset. I read dozens of papers each week and even now I find them terribly abstruse.
I suppose I'm contrasting this to just continuing on with online courses and books - is the added structure, focus and community more transformative?
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
In most countries a PhD will graduate around 24. It’s only a marathon in the US, and isn’t such a huge investment in time in other places.
> In most countries a PhD will graduate around 24 Not in Germany. I started studying at 18, so as early as possible. Finished after 5 years with my Masters degree. A PhD would've taken a minimum (!) of 3 more years, so I would've been 26 or older. If you don't have a perfect start, take more than regular study time or take longer than those 3 years, it's easy (and not considered being bad) to be 30 when you're done.
23, 24, 25, 26, yeah somewhere around there. That's a lot different to 30s. I had a colleague in Austria who got a very good PhD, with top-tier publications, all done in two years and out into industry.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#39being in Europe makes a big difference here I think.
in the US i know several people who did an MS, worked in industry, then went back for a PhD. it’s extremely possible.
i suspect this is less true in Europe, where the degree process is faster and more focused and where the hierarchical aspects of academia are much stronger.
Re: Ask HN: Will getting a PhD lead to a more interesting life?
#40I finished my PhD about a year ago (graduating in a month finally). First and foremost, graduating won't stop you from doing a PhD later. I initially took an industry job for a year and then chose to go back to academia. I initially went back to academia with the perspective of either staying in academia or going into research, but after those four years I basically lost the will to stick in these fields. Honestly if…
I cannot agree more with your last paragraph.
I am finishing my PhD in a few months and while most people think I have a good profile for and should stay in academia, I have lost the will honestly.
At the end of my PhD, I am basically still interested in the things I was always interested in. But I keep questioning myself if PhD was really worth it, and what would I really have missed out if I just joined a job that I enjoyed doing.