A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
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A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
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Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#2[deleted]
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#3The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD.
I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible.
So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to discuss.
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#4The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
>So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then there's not much to discuss.
Ok, how about a much simpler system of research apprenticeship? An apprentice is paid a low but livable salary, possibly with tuition remission for any necessary coursework, and probably with TA/RA duties as we have now. There are no grades and no qualifying exams. Instead, the apprentice must simply produce three publishable (ie: either published, or judged by their committee to be publishable) research papers within the committee's set time limit. Once they have accomplished this, the apprentice is promoted to be a professional researcher, given a proper professional salary and allowed to submit work as they please without an advisor's co-authorship.
This actually captures most of what we believe, deep-down, that PhD's are actually for, but without the bureaucracy and indignity of treating apprentice researchers as "students" who need their school's approval more than they need to do good work.
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#5The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
Many famous computer scientists lack PhDs, some of them are professors; this was completely possible in the 70s/80s when a PhD wasn't required (nor were there enough of them). Today it is probably much harder, though I know some really good researchers who only have masters (not even in CS).
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#6The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible.
See Edward Fredkin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fredkin for a counter example
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#7The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. See Edward Fredkin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fredkin for a counter example
Let me clarify:
I mean now. As in a student who is currently performing their undergraduate studies. Do they honestly have a hope of an academic career without postgraduate qualifications?
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#8The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
>So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then there's not much to discuss. Ok, how about a much simpler system of research apprenticeship? An apprentice is paid a low but livable salary, possibly with tuition remission for any necessary coursework, and probably with TA/RA duties as we have now. There are no grades and no qualifying exams. Instead, the apprentice must simply prod…
That's exactly what a PhD already is - a research apprenticeship. They already get a low but liveable salary without having to pay tuition. I don't think many PhDs do TA/RA duties - they're too busy researching.
PhD students don't have grades or qualifying exams, and three publishable research papers is what most PhD students achieve anyway. The thesis is just these papers written up into one continuous piece and submitted to the people who will become their peers.
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#9The problem with his argument is that a certain set of circumstances (i.e. a world war) allowed him to enter his position without the PhD. I'm fairly confident in saying the challenge to become a professor at a respectable university in a stem field without a PhD makes it for all intents and purposes impossible. So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then theres not much to dis…
>So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then there's not much to discuss. Ok, how about a much simpler system of research apprenticeship? An apprentice is paid a low but livable salary, possibly with tuition remission for any necessary coursework, and probably with TA/RA duties as we have now. There are no grades and no qualifying exams. Instead, the apprentice must simply prod…
> the apprentice must simply produce three publishable research papers within the committee's set time limit
One big issue with the current PhD system is reliance on published articles to determine a student's worth, which transforms academia into a paper-churning factory. In your scenario, having a set time limit combined with the low pay will still make candidates rush to publish papers, perpetuating the current issues.
Ideally, I would prefer a system like in the Netherlands, where PhD students are considered employees of the university, and get paid close to median wage, and get contributions to a retirement plan. It's a demanding job, and should be paid as such. I would also like to see the recommended period for finishing a PhD extended to 7-10 years, ideally spent in 2 or more research institutions. Funding might be a concern, and universities might have to reduce the number of accepted students, but it's worth it if it reduces the current pressure to constantly publish. The process of scientific publishing itself needs to be revamped, to encourage publishing of failed hypotheses, or replication of old experiments.
Re: A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D (2014)
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
>So while the PhD system is deeply flawed, unless he can provide an alternative then there's not much to discuss. Ok, how about a much simpler system of research apprenticeship? An apprentice is paid a low but livable salary, possibly with tuition remission for any necessary coursework, and probably with TA/RA duties as we have now. There are no grades and no qualifying exams. Instead, the apprentice must simply prod…
> the apprentice must simply produce three publishable research papers within the committee's set time limit One big issue with the current PhD system is reliance on published articles to determine a student's worth, which transforms academia into a paper-churning factory. In your scenario, having a set time limit combined with the low pay will still make candidates rush to publish papers, perpetuating the current is…
I would also like to see the recommended period for finishing a PhD extended to 7-10 years, ideally spent in 2 or more research institutions.
That's basically describes a PhD plus a postdoc today. Which is essentially the minimum requirement for kicking off an academic career.
I completely agree that PhD students should be full employees and get paid basically the median wage of a first job in the relevant field.