Ask HN: Is a PhD worth its time? I have a MS from a famous univ. but find myself confused as to whether to pursue a PhD at this point in time, after many years in the industry and away from academia. My plan isn’t to become a Prof either.:) Should I go for a PhD? Does one learn valuable skills to be able to contribute significantly to the software industry outside of Academia? -Vipul |
I have a PhD and I think it was a good use of my time. I got to study things I am interested in, I developed skills and thoughts on interesting topics, while also having a coffee break or going to do something else whenever I felt like it. Getting a PhD also got me the job I always wanted (research scientist in a corporate lab). I would not have this job without a PhD.
There seems to be a lot of hiring in industry right now at the overlap between domain expertise and machine learning/computational science (this has probably been true since computers became fashionable). So if you don't really care about being a software developer you could probably get a job after a PhD having been a software developer at some domain intersection where you might be programming a lot that would likely justify the PhD you received.
I mean the truth is, nobody here can tell you what to do, it's your life, do whatever you want. Some people enjoy doing a PhD, other people hate it. In my experience, people without a phd typically believe they know what getting a phd is like, people with phd's have all silently and collectively agreed to not discuss the traumatic parts.
Most of the people I know who got a PHD did it for immigration reasons.