Deciding to spend another three to four years studying, on a salary lower than many of your friends, requires a lot of commitment.
There are many reasons to enrol for a PhD and here were mine:
Enjoyment
PhDs give an opportunity to enjoy unparalleled freedom to explore research topics to a very deep level. For some people this would be their worst nightmare.
Personally I found that the parts of my undergraduate degree that I enjoyed the most were the research projects. Working independently to carry out research on a project to generating knowledge felt like a breath of fresh air compared to typical coursework with known answers.
Hence my primary reason for choosing to do a PhD was that I enjoy research.
Requirement for academic careers
I’m considering pursuing a career in academia and for this a PhD is a necessity. Plus, outside of academia they still hold weight: decision makers at a top-flight engineering consultancy have told me that they consider a PhD comparable to roughly two years of industry experience.
So even if you decide to work in industry, they’re not useless.
Surprisingly similar salary
I worked for three years between undergrad and PhD and yes I’ve taken a pay-cut. But the difference in take-home pay isn’t actually that big, especially by supplementing my income.
There are a number of perks to being a student which I feel offset the salary gap: autonomy, flexible working hours and access to sports clubs and societies all spring to mind. Plus of course depending on what you wish to do post-PhD your salary could rise significantly compared to candidates without a doctorate.
Still undecided?
I spent a considerable amount of time after my undergrad deliberating on whether or not to enrol for a PhD. Eventually I realised that I’d have a lot more to lose by never starting one, than enrolling and possibly regretting it. If you really don’t enjoy it you can always leave!
It was my belief that the decision to start a PhD would only become more difficult later in life and the drop in salary to a PhD stipend becomes more of an issue. I am very pleased that I decided to work for a years before starting my PhD though.
If you’re currently studying for a PhD, what were your reasons? If you’re considering a PhD, why are you? I’d love to hear your stories so please comment below!
