Earlier quoted context omitted.
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Looks like not a particularly good one at that (I would hope for a higher than average ability to get along with people).
I would not disagree.
Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
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Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do all seven work at the same place? The PhDs I know mostly work a M-W/9-5 schedule with the occasional late night or weekend day when it's crunch time for a conference deadline. Plenty of time left for family, and they all have families. But that's dependent on departmental culture, and there can be a lot of variance.
I suspect that this also depends on field. CS has been hot for a long time now, it's also not extremely expensive to make a dent - or particularly unlikely. In Physics, we graduate an order of magnitude more Phds than there are posts for Phds. There are few remunerative fields which hire Phd physicists.
> In Physics, we graduate an order of magnitude more Phds than there are posts for Phds. There are few remunerative fields which hire Phd physicists.
IIRC, that's even worse in the humanities in both regards.
I'd kind of think doing a career change would be easier for a Phd physicist, because they could benefit from stereotypes especially if they switch into some kind of quantitative or math-y field.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#23Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
This is the danger of anecdotes, they can lead to bias. I have a PhD and I had my first child at 28. Almost all of my colleagues have families and children, except for the one person who was unable to attract a suitable mate (and not for lack of trying). Sometimes very bright people have trouble attracting an equivalent person. The pool is that much smaller and other factors (socioeconomic, culture) still play a role…
If everyone had a requirement for marriage that you marry someone as smart as you, exactly no one would be married.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#24Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
I don't see how going for a PhD limits one's family life.
Sure one could earn more money for less work in the industry, but being a PhD student is still a rather cushy job earning decent money compared to a lot of physical jobs out there. Also nobody cares at which time of the day/week you do your work, which is nice in times where other jobs might prefer to have your ass in an office.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#25Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
My wife got a PhD by age 28 with over 20 science publications, didn’t stress at all during the time really.
She traveled the world during that time and we live a pretty chill life. Met lots of friends during that time too. Don’t purely listen to anecdotes.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#26Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
Most of the people with the PhD I know that have a family either abandoned the "line of work" (e.g, mathematics PhD but did computer programming) or was a teacher/professor.
I know a PhD specialising in applying ml algorithms to different markets, mostly energy-related.
Married, 3 kids, good position In a fund, same focus as his phd.
He was very, very lucky, without even realising it to this day. His wife took most of the hit, with him permanently working, or teaching, or something, and her taking care of thr rest of their life, kids included.
On the specialisation side. He never went the "pursue a dream even with no money" way. It was more about picking things he was good at, and also making sure the choice included sellable skills.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#27Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
I've also heard quite a few people saying that their PhD was one of the best times of their life, because of how free they were to pursue things they found interesting (many of them have also settled down with a family, as well). Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Grass is always greener.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#28Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
This is the danger of anecdotes, they can lead to bias. I have a PhD and I had my first child at 28. Almost all of my colleagues have families and children, except for the one person who was unable to attract a suitable mate (and not for lack of trying). Sometimes very bright people have trouble attracting an equivalent person. The pool is that much smaller and other factors (socioeconomic, culture) still play a role…
> This is the danger of anecdotes, they can lead to bias.
Your own story is also a dangerous anecdote. Without the context, it's pointless to talk about how amazing your Ph.D. experience was. Study engineering or quantitative marketing? Most likely miserable. Study humanities? Probably happier.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#29Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
My wife got a PhD by age 28 with over 20 science publications, didn’t stress at all during the time really. She traveled the world during that time and we live a pretty chill life. Met lots of friends during that time too. Don’t purely listen to anecdotes.
From the number of published articles, it seems your wife was in STEM? Engineering Ph.D.s publish a lot of papers but they contribute little to each, because there are often tens of co-authors. Not to downplay your wife's achievement, but pointing out #papers is not that informative.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#30Every person I know with a PhD now in their 40s and 50s (7 people) doesn’t have a family and wished they did and didn’t have a PhD. I’d love to see a study on that. I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
> I’m never bothered because it looked like too much effort for little money.
Having a PhD or a family? Because I could see that applied to either. Money and effort are not the only metrics that matter.