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The Illustrated Guide to a PhD

The Illustrated Guide to a PhD

20 comments

·January 12, 2025
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fl4tul4

Yes, I can attest that nowadays, in some fields, research has become a 'game', where:

- people torture data until it yields unreproducible results;

- people choose venues that maximises their chances of getting published (and pay for publication sometimes, I'm looking at you, APC);

- little concern given to excellence, rigour, and impact;

- the chase for a 'diploma' from a renown institute without putting the effort;

I could go on and on, but I'll stop now.

Perhaps something changes, I am waiting for this to happen for some time now (10y and counting).

It's a bad system but that's what we have (at the moment).

ySteeK

You don't need a PhD to push the boundaries. You need a PhD to make others believe you pushed the boundaries!

mr_mitm

You got it backwards. You need to push the boundaries to get a PhD.

oezi

PhDs' unfortunately have lost much of their value.

- There aren't enough post-doc and tenure positions for the glut of PhDs.

- Plagiarism scandals have reduced the public's perception of a PhD to become almost something unprestigous.

CaffeineLD50

As AI becomes better the quality of plagiarism should improve.

So there's that.

someothherguyy

Thankfully not everyone feels this way, and humanity continues to benefit from the work that PhD holders do.

dataflow

I just pray that everyone denigrating PhDs is making even greater contributions to humanity.

CaffeineLD50

Since a PhD makes no intrinsic contribution, even greater than nothing is easily done.

liontwist

It’s a nice idea that you’re going to help the boundary of human knowledge expand but I don’t think infinite progress is the right model.

All the evidence shows that fields are completely ignorant of each other and reinvent the basic solutions. This coincides with the theory that cohorts of experts develop expertise which is not transferrable.

Watch as ML rediscovers harmonic analysis while awarding plenty of Phds to those involved.

Rediscovery is a great thing. You bring new meaning and context. I’s just not “expanding circle of knowledge”

More likely is you will dig further down the track of the fads your advisor is into. The trend will be forgotten in a few decades, with a small change of unforeseen utility later. And its contribution will be to your personal life.

The model proposed is also lacking in ambition because historically PhDs were significant.

null

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ulrischa

A phd ist not a phd. A phd in medicine is like a Bachelor thesis. While a phd in engineering can become a 10 year nightmare

chaosite

That's not right. A PhD is a PhD.

An MD (Medical Doctorate) is like a master's degree. It's not like a bachelor's because many MD programs start out with or require a BSc, biology is a popular choice but a lot of STEM majors are possible.

But MD+PhD programs exist and those are definitely PhDs.

You are right that an MD is not a PhD, though. Notice how they don't call it a PhD.

asicsp

See also this previous discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29138570 (158 points | Nov 7, 2021 | 121 comments)

linkerdoo

250K in student loan debt?

relyks

You don't typically pay for a PhD. You're accepted into a program and the schools pays for you, sometimes even with a stipend to help with living costs

gylterud

And on the Nordic countries you are employed and given a living wage while doing a PhD.

wanderingmind

I can do better, the one line guide to PhD.

``` For safety and well being of you and your family, EVACUATE NOWWW. ```

danieldk

This is most likely a very American perspective. There are countries where you get paid like a normal employee (not much worse than an entry-level job) with unemployment benefits, building up pension, etc. and where you can focus on doing your research (only a lightweight teaching obligation).

I really treasure my (non-US) PhD time. I had a great adviser, was decently paid, and had a lot of time/opportunity to explore things, which I think lead to interesting research. And when I retire, it provides part of my pension. Also when I look back I often realize how relaxed my PhD time was compared to the much more stressful life after doing a PhD.

The field really changed after doing my PhD (I'm in NLP/CL and when I did my PhD, HPSG-like grammars and maxent models were still reigning), but I think I still benefit a lot from the methodologies I learned while doing my PhD.

blharr

Even in America I've seen similar opportunities. Engineering PhDs at state schools have offers where you get paid a small but livable amount and get your tuition paid for. I think the big difference is that in industry you can just get paid way more in America compared to engineering elsewhere.

maxweylandt

I just completed my PhD at an American university, and I had a great time. Granted, my institution's stipend was on the higher side for the social sciences and I lived in an affordable city, which helped a lot, as did the kind and supportive faculty. I often feel the negative voices dominate discourse on this topic --- which is maybe fair given the many structural issues --- but it is possible, sometimes, to enjoy it.

(to clarify I'm not disagreeing with you, US academia does have lots of issues that lead to many having a bad time. But still, getting paid to learn is a dream)