If this student can't figure this out for himself, then he should absolutely not start a business.
Funny, I was about to say that if he can't figure it out for himself, he probably shouldn't do PhD.
What should I choose, PhD or startup?
21–30 of 39 posts
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#22For Chemistry, go with the Ph.D. Here's why. Having the Ph.D. at the end of your name gets emails answered. Having the Ph.D. gets you access to collaborators. It's a huge differentiator. It makes you an expert, which you need to be in Chemistry. Anyone can do a startup, very few people finish a Ph.D. When you're finished, you'll have access to hundreds of thousands of government R&D dollars which you will otherwise n…
I heard that Ph.D.s are very important in chemistry, too.
> Anyone can do a startup, very few people finish a Ph.D.
A lot of people can start a Ph.D. I do not know how many people `finish' a startup.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure I agree with that; I would suggest that the opposite is true. Top-tier PhD programs almost never allow students to defer an acceptance offer, so the person in question would need to re-apply. Being accepted becomes substantially more difficult the longer you've been working in industry, particularly if you haven't been working in something directly related to the PhD's field of study (like a startup). Startu…
My startup's based around the tech I was studying for my PhD (I dropped out to do the startup, my research was leaning more real-worldy than academic, and to stay in academia I'd have had to go in a direction I didn't like). I'm pretty sure (in fact I've more or less been told) I could get the PhD within a couple of years without too much hassle, either full time or part time. I agree with another commenter's point t…
Once you've started it's generally OK to take a year off, however if you turn to down an acceptance most places make you start from square one. So as such it might be a good idea to take the PhD position, do that for a year, and then re-consider.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#24Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#25No mention of intellectual property rights? I was under the impression that if you worked on something original using university facilities, you have effectively given up your rights to anything that you come up with using those facilities. The university owns it all.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#26I dropped out of university after my first year so I can't comment on academic pursuits with any authority. However, what I can say is that starting a half-decent startup gives you the most incredible ability to hack your lifestyle. This summer I was able to travel to some awesome places to kitesurf (my favourite passtime outside business) whilst working furiously on lots of my ideas. A couple of years ago I would have never thought that possible.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#27This debate comes up often here, but one point that always seems to get left out is that a PhD affords you time for your ideas and skills to mature. I currently have the unique opportunity to work for a startup while also working on my PhD. I can say without a doubt that a PhD does provide its benefits in some scenarios --that is, you can tailor your PhD research to benefit your startup or vice versa. For example, I…
I concur, mixing academia and business life can be a very potent combination. I did do an industrial Ph.D., where I ,according to the plan, did spend half my time at the university and half the time at the company.
It doubled or tripled my network (if not more) and gave me a profound insight into both the limitations/benefits of university thinking and the business life/thinking.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#28If this student can't figure this out for himself, then he should absolutely not start a business.
Funny, I was about to say that if he can't figure it out for himself, he probably shouldn't do PhD.
I thought the same thing when I first saw this comment, but I realized it isn't right.
A PhD gives you the opportunity to get both a broad overview of a field, as well as delving deeply into some subarea. It will greatly enhance your technical skills and ability to think. Even if you don't plan to have a research career, learning how to do research will be very helpful.
A PhD is a very worthwhile if you don't have anything better to do and if you have the motivation to actually do it.
(Granted, if you are going to dick around for 5 years on a grad student stipend, don't waste your time.)
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#29No mention of intellectual property rights? I was under the impression that if you worked on something original using university facilities, you have effectively given up your rights to anything that you come up with using those facilities. The university owns it all.
Sometimes the university will give you a piece. I believe NYU gives you about 45%, for instance.
Re: What should I choose, PhD or startup?
#30The danger of going for PhD is that after 5 years or more of studying, with all the time investment and academic achievement, you no longer have as much desire or motivation as initially. I think this partly explains many legendary founders started their start-ups very early: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg (not considered legendary yet but on his way), etc. The more you how hard it is to start a business, the less time you have left, the more unlikely you actually start one. If you think you will start a business someday, why wait any longer, start one now. Good luck!