Pros and cons of doing a PhD?

I have just turned 26 and finished my masters degree (still awaiting results) and am thinking about undertaking a PhD. Basically I am concerned that I'm too old and I will be 30 before I start my career and I will be forever poor.

What are the pro's and cons of doing a PhD at my age? and do you think it is worth it?

Reply 1

gjd800

Original post by Add!ction

I was 27 when I started and 32 when I finished

Pros are really about the satisfaction of it, it can be a gateway into academia, you get a fully immersive research experience (for better or worse). i got to learn a couple of languages which was cool

Cons: it is full-time and can be overwhelming. Easy to get lonely, especially if only you and your supervisor do that specialism in your whole dept. Not guaranteed access to academia (only 1 in 5 make it), it is hard. Money isn't great even with funding

Reply 2

Add!ction

Original post by gjd800

Thank you for your response! In your opinion, is it realistic to finish it in 3-4 years? My discipline would be in the humanities.

Also, and this may sound a little naive, do you get paid for doing it? Or does that depend where you go and what you study?

Reply 3

username4899996

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Reply 4

Add!ction

Original post by DJWatson

Are you the cure for Alzheimer’s? Because you’re unforgettable

Aw thanks hun xoxo

Reply 5

username4899996

Original post by Add!ction

Aw thanks hun xoxo

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Reply 6

mgi

Original post by Add!ction

I'm starting one and I'm a bit older than you! It depends on what yiur plans and priorities are for your life! For me a Ph.D is the ultimate academic challenge for me and a chance to learn even more skills and to innovate. I would also be able to eventually gain financially as well. What do you think?

Reply 7

gjd800

Original post by Add!ction

I had mine done in 3.5 ish but by the time it was examined and awarded it was 4.5 years. I don't know anybody that has finished in 3 years in our dept (philosophy), but I think if I hadn't had to do the languages, I probably would have

Universities have discretionary funds and you will likely have to teach etc so you can get some money, but otherwise you really need funding. I got AHRC funding but it is stupidly competitive and the odds of securing it are slim to say the least, so I just got lucky. We had like 4 AHCR scholarships to go across the entire school of the arts.I'm not sure what the stipends are now, but I got about 13k a year which is great but doesn't go THAT far when you have a house to run, commutes to do and all that stuff

Some universities offer competitive funded studentships, so they pick your research area and supervisor and then you do it there and get paid a stipend. Check Europe as well, there's been some great ones popping up over the past 3 months

Self funding is feasible (but hard) if you go part-time, full-time might be too much of an ask

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 8

oswosw

Original post by Add!ction

I am 26, just completed my masters degree and started my PhD a few weeks ago. If you want it, age shouldn't matter.

Reply 9

QHF

Original post by Add!ction

In my experience (me, my peers, graduate students I've seen do it since), within four years is realistic, and the majority of humanities students manage that. Part of it is of course just having the bloody-minded pragmatism come the third year to make the necessary compromises and trim the project to fit the time available. Finishing in just three years is rare in the humanities though not unheard of—people who manage it tend to be both good and lucky. I submitted my thesis in three-and-a-quarter years, and was awarded the doctorate at the three-and-a-half-year mark (this was considered a relatively snappy turnaround).

Securing full funding is tough: you'll need a good, timely research idea which is suited to the context where you're applying to do it, plus a strong academic record behind you.

If you can get a fully-funded studentship, though, it's a liveable life provided you don't have dependants or expensive hobbies. You're still a student, so you don't pay council tax, and you qualify for student discounts. With luck and judgement you can get grants to attend conferences, secure library fellowships, and build some discretionary travel around those. While almost everyone finds it a tough experience, and although even those for whom it's a relatively smooth and happy process usually have times when the PhD wears them down, people do find it quite fulfilling. I have wound up in academia, but my first job after the doctorate was outside academia, and I still felt glad I'd done the PhD.

I'd also observe that my friends in more traditionally lucrative professions such as law and medicine have also found that their late twenties and early thirties are periods of tough, poorly-remunerated work—when they've been able to stay in these professions in the first place, that is—(though it might very well be that they will earn more than me in future). To some extent some of the effects which make postgraduate life hard are broad, generational effects which will come for you whichever profession you pursue. So, while it's wise to think about the opportunity cost of the years lost to the doctorate, it's also worth considering the possibility that those years might be rough going in some other fields too.

On the other hand I'd caution against doing a doctorate without full funding, unless you're wealthy enough that you don't need to work.