I am about to defend my Ph.D. thesis in a few weeks. I'm in the area of comp/elec engineering, VLSI chip design stuff. Here is my advice from my personal experience. I typically tell people to not go for a Ph.D. unless they are convinced that it is required in whatever career path they want (for example, becoming a tenured professor, or specific type of research position in industry).
From the way you phrased your question, it depend on what you deem as a "good job offer". In terms of salary, the typical wage difference between Ph.D. and MS is not that big (in my field). You are also not earning for the time in which you pursue the Ph.D. (5 years maybe). As an example, most of my friends that did their M.S. with me went straight into industry. They are all in some form of technical lead/managerial role (higher pay) and had been earning a good salary the whole time.
Also being a post-doc is not something you would want to aim for. It's more of a limbo position with poor pay. If you are talking about "interesting" work, then Ph.D. can open doors but it depends on your specialized area.
That being said, completing a Ph.D. will make you an expert in your field. If that field has strong industry ties, you will likely come out with many contacts through networking at conferences and events, possibly collaborating with industry members, possible research internships, etc. This will lead to job opportunities.
And as others have said, Ph.D.s are not for the faint of heart. For me, Ph.D. was similar to M.S., but with a longer term, slightly more risky project. So think about how you liked your M.S. experience. Your overall experience will also depend highly on your supervisor's personality, and how disciplined and motivated you are. I tend to think that I am a bit on the un-disciplined side, but I am very fortunate to have an extremely good mentor/supervisor. :)
If you want to chat further, feel free to post here or send me an email. :)
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I am about to defend my Ph.D. thesis in a few weeks. I'm in the area of comp/elec engineering, VLSI chip design stuff. Here is my advice from my personal experience. I typically tell people to not go for a Ph.D. unless they are convinced that it is required in whatever career path they want (for example, becoming a tenured professor, or specific type of research position in industry).
From the way you phrased your question, it depend on what you deem as a "good job offer". In terms of salary, the typical wage difference between Ph.D. and MS is not that big (in my field). You are also not earning for the time in which you pursue the Ph.D. (5 years maybe). As an example, most of my friends that did their M.S. with me went straight into industry. They are all in some form of technical lead/managerial role (higher pay) and had been earning a good salary the whole time. Also being a post-doc is not something you would want to aim for. It's more of a limbo position with poor pay. If you are talking about "interesting" work, then Ph.D. can open doors but it depends on your specialized area.
That being said, completing a Ph.D. will make you an expert in your field. If that field has strong industry ties, you will likely come out with many contacts through networking at conferences and events, possibly collaborating with industry members, possible research internships, etc. This will lead to job opportunities.
And as others have said, Ph.D.s are not for the faint of heart. For me, Ph.D. was similar to M.S., but with a longer term, slightly more risky project. So think about how you liked your M.S. experience. Your overall experience will also depend highly on your supervisor's personality, and how disciplined and motivated you are. I tend to think that I am a bit on the un-disciplined side, but I am very fortunate to have an extremely good mentor/supervisor. :)
If you want to chat further, feel free to post here or send me an email. :)