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Consider applying for grad school

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Re: Consider applying for grad school

#161

Post by coolwhhip »

newen wrote: post #142
TTPrograms wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My statement is not that people can't benefit from a PhD, but that it is not a strict requirement. You are presenting a strawman.

What is that strawman exactly? You are saying that anyone can do PhD level research with just a laptop and the internet. I am saying that that is extremely difficult and impossible for the vast majority of people.

Maybe I’m misreading, but the strawman seems to be that research can be done in a vacuum without collaborating.

The parent commenter seems to be suggesting that a PhD isn’t a requirement to work successfully on interesting research problems. It’s possible to go online and read the same papers everyone’s reading. You can still talk to people to get guidance and find out known things that are not published.

Re: Consider applying for grad school

#162

Post by killjoywashere »

sebleon wrote: post #56
dwaltrip wrote: post #34

One point jumped out at me, which I haven't seen anyone respond to: > We are concerned about untrained amateurs going directly into trying to solve very difficult global problems. They can then cause harm overall, by lowering the average quality of analysis or launching ill-considered projects due to a lack of experience or understanding. A PhD reduces the risk you’ll accidentally do this. This point is operating off…

It's not an unreasonable opinion, but I doubt a PhD can make up for lack of real-world experience. Likely, the best way to get better at solving global problems is by doing just that for years, preferably alongside others with more experience. IMO learn to swim in the pool.

Yes, but real world problems are in the ocean, with sharks, currents, icebergs, etc. Enjoy your pools.

Re: Consider applying for grad school

#163

Post by rogue7 »

fouc wrote: post #139
rebeccaskinner wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been in the industry for 12 years and I've been deeply considering going back to school for a PhD. I love working on fundamental CS and I'd greatly enjoy the sort of work that I'd have access to during and after a PhD. The challenge is that, for folks who haven't won the equity lottery or racked up FAANG RSUs, it's a huge financial challenge to consider going from an engineering salary to PhD stipend. Considerin…

Have you heard of http://www.mrmoneymustache.com ? If you still have student loans after 12 years in the industry, you might want to re-examine your spending/saving patterns

Just discovered this website, this philosophy looks really interesting! The ultimate goal of early retirement is appealing, so the discipline has a purpose. This might get me somewhere, instead of saving for the sake of getting richer. Thank you for this discovery!

Re: Consider applying for grad school

#164

Post by newen »

coolwhhip wrote: post #161
newen wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is that strawman exactly? You are saying that anyone can do PhD level research with just a laptop and the internet. I am saying that that is extremely difficult and impossible for the vast majority of people.

Maybe I’m misreading, but the strawman seems to be that research can be done in a vacuum without collaborating. The parent commenter seems to be suggesting that a PhD isn’t a requirement to work successfully on interesting research problems. It’s possible to go online and read the same papers everyone’s reading. You can still talk to people to get guidance and find out known things that are not published.

Ya I guess it was something of a strawman. But it's pretty close to the truth since it's very hard to get good guidance outside academia or places like google with lots of phds around.

Re: Consider applying for grad school

#165

Post by dang »

deviationblue wrote: post #86
tommymachine wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corollary being: can a PhD make up for lack of real world experience?

Not, if your PhD is in something mindless, like political science.

Could you please not post flamebait to HN?

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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