What motivated you to pursue a PhD?

There are only two contexts in which the title should really be used:

i) If you are lecturing or communicating with students - in which case... it makes little to no difference as they often don't understand the different titles anyway. I have taught at university level and have no title yet get called everything from mr to dr. to professor

ii) In academic circles, in which case everyone else will either be a doctor or have a higher rank. Being proud about being a doctor in that setting is like a junior officer running around the mess hall telling everyone he is second lieutenant.

Using an academic (or military) rank or title out of context has the unfortunate effect of making people sound like pricks - even if they aren't.

To be fair - it is a pretty fatuous thing to do.

You don't pay for a PhD, or shouldn't. Being admitted to a PhD without funding (in the form of scholarships or TA jobs, RA jobs or whatever) is an implicit rejection.

Everything costs in life. It is what it is. What is important is that you have contributed something that people will you remember you by (hopefully!). In any case, you're a Dr. I don't care about people's skepticism. People have survived it. I will too.

On who's rules? Yours?

If you want to pay full fees + living expenses for your PhD while other people are given all this for free it's your choice. But if the department really wants you they will bring cash to the table.

If you want to pay full fees + living expenses for your PhD while other people are given all this for free it's your choice. But if the department really wants you they will bring cash to the table.

On whose rules? Yours?

Is funding for computer science phds easy to get?

medium

you could have been productive if you chose to tell why that post warranted a presumably sarcastic response

Yeah I'm sorry.

If you've seen the film 'no country for old men' there's a scene where someone asks if the bad guy's dangerous... and woody harrelson (sp?) replies 'compared to what? the bubonic plague'

Somewhere between falling off a log and finding the higgs boson.

there's little Phd funding in the arts these days - maybe it's 10* times harder to get funding for an English Lit PhD than computer science... but that's neither help nor hindrance to you if you want to do computer science cos it's probably not going to be an alternative path that'd be open to you anyway and the Eng lit candiates aren't likely to be competing for 'your' CS funding either.

It's gonna be as hard as it is at the time you're looking to start and you'll either succeed or fail... the better your research proposal is, the better your chances of getting it funded.

all IMO

* a number pulled out of my hat.

Indeed. it was a tongue in cheek comment

And another...

Student Imsoeffinclever

ISEC as he/she is known for short was bullied at school. Socially awkward amongst a mixed crowd; ISEC decided early on that he/she was going to reign supreme amongst the geeks. During their undergrad, they spurned the 'lower' opportunities for friendships and good times and worked hard on their course and their pretensions of self importance. ISEC is modestly intelligent but is under the delusion that he/she is an insightful genious of highest order. He/she goes on to do a PhD essentially because it is the only arena in life in which they are able to compete. Only they aren't actually that much of a competetive force within their discipline; they drastically overestimate the worth and impact of their tentative apprenticework that forms their thesis. They use their PhD as a form of self validation and endlessly self promote themselves amongst family and friends. They think that academic research is the only endeavour in the world that utilises true intelligence and creativity. They fail to see that their work is just mundane cookie-cutter methodology diligently applied to a yet relatively untouched niche.

Seriously, go to an academic department or to an academic conference. They are full of egos that need validation and massaging and academia is the only place they can get that emotional satisfaction.

do you have a webcam set up in my room or something

Seriously, I don't know about everyone else but my mum and brother, for example, refer to me as "my son/brother the academic genious" (much to my chagrin you understand ) when talking about me or introducing me to people. They don't care when I point out that I haven't passed yet/haven't contributed much to my discipline etc. etc. as far as they are concerned even attempting a PhD makes me and Einstein like equals. Well, you can just imagine how people might actually enjoy this aspect of having such a title rather than be embarrased by it.

I would be stressed out if my family did this to me! (And I've experienced it before as well!) I'm on my first semester and I've done a good job not telling the family about my little project or it's going to be a circus! It's just one of those unnecessary pressures that I don't need

I just laugh it off. The thing I find is that the thought of being seen as 'good' at my discipline is like being seen as being 'good' at say dancing and singing along to Simply Red songs: I might secretly enjoy it but I am embarrased about being seen to do so in public and would much rather be known as being good at something more 'respectable' like football, fighting or attracting women.

How do you get funding for a phd?