[wj4]

Please share your career path, ie how long it took you to finish that steppingstone, where did you attend, what did you get the Ph.D in, etc.

I don't think I will be 'done' with my Masters so eventually I would like go back to school again.

[blue-coupe]

A buddy of mine got his PHD in genetics. He's now making about $55k in Arlington VA. I'd consider that pretty much a fail situation.

Then again, my boss as his PHD and makes about 7x that amount, so it all depends.

[blue-coupe]

I got a full scholarship to get my PHD in Economics, but I did the math, and even paying for it myself, the MBA was more worthwhile.

[cougfan335]

I was born with a PHD, which has proved much more lucrative and satisfying than any formal education.

[Mighty M]

Overeducated = FTL.

[ejazbmw]

my sister is actually doing her PHD right now shes 28 and she will be 31 when she's done. IMO its not worth it because she's always broke she has student loans up to her neck and she started it a bit to late I would have done it around 25ish

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by Mighty M

Overeducated = FTL.

Only someone without a doctorate would say something like that.

[wj4]

Originally Posted by yomama69

Only someone without a doctorate would say something like that.

LOL! I don't think my thirst for education will ever end. I'm consistently at the local Barnes And Noble buying books on stuff I'm curious about.

Originally Posted by blue-coupe

A buddy of mine got his PHD in genetics. He's now making about $55k in Arlington VA. I'd consider that pretty much a fail situation.

Then again, my boss as his PHD and makes about 7x that amount, so it all depends.

To some people, they don't really care about making insane amount of money. I had several professors who are making around 60K, which is pretty crap here in SoCal. But they're content because they love what they do. They have no need to splurge on a $500,000 car or live in a $1,000,000 home...which would be a nice 2 story 3 bedroom house here, lol.

[wj4]

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

my sister is actually doing her PHD right now shes 28 and she will be 31 when she's done. IMO its not worth it because she's always broke she has student loans up to her neck and she started it a bit to late I would have done it around 25ish

Why isn't she doing it part time and get her employer to cover a portion or all of the tuition? And if she's going after her Ph.D, that means that she already has a Masters...should put that to work.

My step dad did his Ph.D or rather J.D., part time and finished in about 4 years.

~25 is WAY too early for a Ph.D. I'm 23 now and half of the people in my graduate courses for my Masters are in their late 20s to 40s.

It's very rare that someone get a BA/BS, Masters, Ph.D, without stopping to work. Kinda senseless too IMO..after all that, you have no real life experience.

[scorcherjf]

Yea I don't get what all the replies about how it's not worth it or you make no money etc. OP didn't ask about how much more money he could be making.

A PhD is for someone who's genuinely interested in a subject that he wouldn't mind researching for the rest of his/her life. It's about expanding the body of knowledge in that field - your thesis being only the beginning.

If you still have that thirst for learning after your masters, I'd say go for it. Hell, your masters program might allow you to continue on to do the PhD there. I know I'm considering it but I'll wait and see how my masters pans out.

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by wj4

Why isn't she doing it part time and get her employer to cover a portion or all of the tuition? And if she's going after her Ph.D, that means that she already has a Masters...should put that to work.

My step dad did his Ph.D or rather J.D., part time and finished in about 4 years.

~25 is WAY too early for a Ph.D. I'm 23 now and half of the people in my graduate courses for my Masters are in their late 20s to 40s.

It's very rare that someone get a BA/BS, Masters, Ph.D, without stopping to work. Kinda senseless too IMO..after all that, you have no real life experience.

she is working in a lab right now during the summer for some $$ and i think her job is paying something towards her education. I don't know i mean before she went into this program she was making really good money she bought whatever she wanted, lived in a nice apt, drove a nice car and so on, but now she asks my parents for money lol

The increase in pay with a PHD is like 7%-9% (or something close to that) and that percent makes my marginal benefit seem not so great but that's just me though.

[wj4]

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

she is working in a lab right now during the summer for some $$ and i think her job is paying something towards her education. I don't know i mean before she went into this program she was making really good money she bought whatever she wanted, lived in a nice apt, drove a nice car and so on, but now she asks my parents for money lol

The increase in pay with a PHD is like 7%-9% (or something close to that) and that percent makes my marginal benefit seem not so great but that's just me though.

You can not make a bias statement like that. Increase in pay is 7-9%? With ALL fields in PH.D? In what specific region?

Lab workers do it for the love, not the money. What you do is extremely difficult to comprehend and you get paid in peanuts.

scorcher- That's what I'm doing now, more or less. I'm not far off from finishing my Masters and as of now I still want to continue learning. 3 friends of mine finished their Masters in the same field I'm in this year and got jobs that paid $65-80k, which is not bad at all.

Money definitely plays a factor, otherwise I wouldn't be on a BMW board, heh. But what's more important is the love for your career. Example: I have 2 friends that are attorneys. One is a corporate lawyer, and the other is a small time lawyer that deals with marriage. The latter one makes 1/3 of what the first one makes, but is a lot happier. The first guy has all the money in the world, but is misery.

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by scorcherjf

Yea I don't get what all the replies about how it's not worth it or you make no money etc. OP didn't ask about how much more money he could be making.

A PhD is for someone who's genuinely interested in a subject that he wouldn't mind researching for the rest of his/her life. It's about expanding the body of knowledge in that field - your thesis being only the beginning.

If you still have that thirst for learning after your masters, I'd say go for it. Hell, your masters program might allow you to continue on to do the PhD there. I know I'm considering it but I'll wait and see how my masters pans out.

yeah i guess you have a point I'm still doing my undergrad but plan on doing my masters when I'm 23 I'll be done with my undergrad when im 21 which is rather young.

[wj4]

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

yeah i guess you have a point I'm still doing my undergrad but plan on doing my masters when I'm 23 I'll be done with my undergrad when im 21 which is rather young.

That's about average. You start college at the age of 17/18 right out of HS and finish 4 years later assuming you don't mess up and/or change major that will hold you a year or two back.

You should also look into doing your Masters part time and get a free ride on the tuition train. I don't think you should wait because there's a good chance you won't go back to school. Kinda like how some people want a one year break after HS to 'chill' and never get around to going to college.

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by wj4

That's about average. You start college at the age of 17/18 right out of HS and finish 4 years later assuming you don't mess up and/or change major that will hold you a year or two back.

You should also look into doing your Masters part time and get a free ride on the tuition train. I don't think you should wait because there's a good chance you won't go back to school. Kinda like how some people want a one year break after HS to 'chill' and never get around to going to college.

well i entered college at the prime age of 16 and turn 17 after my first semester i didn't change my major but i did transfer which didn't effect me. I kinda wanted a year or two to make money so i could start paying back my student loans or until i find a company that is willing to pay it all of which would be wonderful lol....err sorry for getting off topic man

[Mighty M]

Originally Posted by yomama69

Only someone without a doctorate would say something like that.

Not even close. Not even a masters. My father has a phd in physics, and he always carried himself as, "the man." As if he knew everything.

Now that I live in a bigger house, have nicer things, my wife included, love my job and make at least 2x what he does...

Payback is a biatch.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by Mighty M

Not even close. Not even a masters. My father has a phd in physics, and he always carried himself as, "the man." As if he knew everything.

Now that I live in a bigger house, have nicer things, my wife included, love my job and make at least 2x what he does...

Payback is a biatch.

I'm the complete opposite, so what's your point? Nobody said that you need a PhD in order to make a nice living, but if the field you're going into is science or technical related, it's probably going to get you further if you have it.

Don't crap on the thread because you have daddy issues.

[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by Mighty M

Not even close. Not even a masters. My father has a phd in physics, and he always carried himself as, "the man." As if he knew everything.

Now that I live in a bigger house, have nicer things, my wife included, love my job and make at least 2x what he does...

Payback is a biatch.

It's funny....the undereducated always have hostility to those with superior education. And a college "degree" doesn't mean your educated.

[CantDrv55]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

It's funny....the undereducated always have hostility to those with superior education. And a college "degree" doesn't mean your educated.

Too bad the people with "superior" education can't use "your" and "you're" properly in a sentence.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by CantDrv55

Too bad the people with "superior" education can't use "your" and "you're" properly in a sentence.

HAHAHA. Nice catch. I completely missed it.

[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by CantDrv55

Too bad the people with "superior" education can't use "your" and "you're" properly in a sentence.

Lol....I tend to not place as much emphasis on silly grammar on E90post. And if you had better reading comprehension you would notice that I was NOT referring to myself.

Who's uneducated now?

[CantDrv55]

Originally Posted by yomama69

HAHAHA. Nice catch. I completely missed it.

Mah GED are paying off!!! 3rd time is a charm.