Do not do this. This is a trap. Research and higher academics are in effect a scam in modern day. At one point they were useful, but now everything done is overwhelmingly private R&D. In academia you will scrounge for scraps and never pay off the loans.
FWIW, I did my PhD in neuroscience and am now working in R&D in biopharma. It would be very difficult to have landed my current position without a PhD. Lastly, most STEM PhD programs pay a stipend (a small one, mine was 30k/year), so you’re not going into debt to get one.
I agree with your sentiment. Academia as a career path isn’t viable (or even feasible) for the majority of people who get a PhD
Comments
Do not do this. This is a trap. Research and higher academics are in effect a scam in modern day. At one point they were useful, but now everything done is overwhelmingly private R&D. In academia you will scrounge for scraps and never pay off the loans.
FWIW, I did my PhD in neuroscience and am now working in R&D in biopharma. It would be very difficult to have landed my current position without a PhD. Lastly, most STEM PhD programs pay a stipend (a small one, mine was 30k/year), so you’re not going into debt to get one.
I agree with your sentiment. Academia as a career path isn’t viable (or even feasible) for the majority of people who get a PhD
But most people doing research at private companies have a PhD at the very least, if not experience in academia, do they not?