should you do a PhD
Most people shouldn’t do a PhD. It’s easy for them to go wrong, it’s easy to do a lot with little to show for it, and it’s easy to get into them for the wrong reasons.
You should only do a PhD if it allows you to do something that isn’t possible otherwise. For many people that’s career advancement, for me it was the opportunity to study games and develop my interests. Even if you don’t have a PhD, you can still get into an R&D role without one.
Some questions to ask yourself:
- Am I just doing this because I’m scared of the real world? Just because I don’t know what to do next? Those are bad reasons to do a PhD.
- Am I passionate enough about the subject to self-motivate for years?
- Have I found an advisor whose work interests me?
- Later in a PhD, you’ll branch out a bit and do your own thing (or collaborate with folks who aren’t your advisor), but early in a PhD you’ll typically be working on things close to your advisor’s interests. See applying for a PhD for info on finding an advisor.
- Have I found an advisor whose style works for me?
- Talk to a professor’s current students. You don’t want to be stuck for years with someone who is secretly abusive or whose communication style doesn’t work for you.
- Questions to ask a potential advisor
- More Questions
- Broad categories that advisors fall into:
- amount they push you
- amount of expertise and connections they have in your specific interest.
- level to which they micromanage.