I read that she received an honorary PhD but surely she fully deserve just a "PhD". Is this a UK thing? Could you in the US or elsewhere have a PhD on the merits of your work (a thesis, a discovery, etc) without spending time in the courses?
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
#62Every 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…
To be fair the person above recognised the short comings of anecdotes and said " I’d love to see a study on that."
I'm not sure your own single point anecdote is enough to counter their own experience and indeed comes with all the same "danger" that you warn about.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#63Every 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 has a PhD, just turned 40, and we have three kids.
Towards the end of her program, she decided she didn't want a research career.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
yeah, I'm on the verge of finding out. Got an offer, but damn it's a big decision to make. Having supporting parents around to help with childcare (no kids yet, but 4 years is a long time) and financials is a big plus. Also being in Europe where the job market looks dire and industry only pay like 20% more is a major draw towards the PhD.
As someone who's almost done with his Ph.D., I wouldn't recommend it. Although I did mine in the US. European universities are different in some ways (e.g., I've heard they don't require Ph.D.s to do TA work, which is nice).
I wouldn't say TA work is not required. It all depends where the funding for the position is coming from. If the university is funding it without any extra grants or cooperations, TA work is definitely a huge part of being a PhD-student.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#65Every 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…
> Sometimes very bright people have trouble attracting an equivalent person.
That does not sound very bright. Valuing equivalence over other attributes makes the math work against success.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#66Every 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 know multiple people with phd and kids.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
High paying jobs in finance are stuffed with physics phds.
Many good physicists with PhD degrees don't have the character traits that are necessary to be hired and/or to be successful in finance.
Sure, but I was just giving a counterexample from my personal experience for the claim that their aren't many good paying jobs for Physics PhDs. In my career I have come across a weirdly large number of physics phds in very lucrative roles and that covers various fields, finance, in the software/tech industry (especially in data analysis type roles) and other places.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I left it ambiguous on purpose, as equivalent could mean many things, someone at least as accomplished, at least as wealthy, or at least as considerate... the list it goes on. It all depends on what that person is looking for. Seems silly to judge which attributes are important for what is a deeply personal choice with serious life implications.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#69I read that she received an honorary PhD but surely she fully deserve just a "PhD". Is this a UK thing? Could you in the US or elsewhere have a PhD on the merits of your work (a thesis, a discovery, etc) without spending time in the courses?
I can't speak for every institution (and every department within), but at least in mine (in the US), there were pretty specific rules and requirements around awarding a PhD, involving coursework, qualifiers, proposals, the thesis and its defense. Seems unlikely that this could be easily circumvented for this type of situation.
Re: Physicist, 98, honoured with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
#70Every 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 didn't pursue graduate work because I didn't think the payback was there for the years of study. I haven't regretted it.