People In My Grad Program are F'ing Loons, Pt II

[compman25]

You hang out with tards.

 

[CRXican]

I wouldn't want to wait 3 days either when all you're doing is going to the gym and eating steak.

 

[MrMatt]

to the person saying grad school doesn't net you any extra money over a bachelors:Are you f'ing high? Most fields above entry level at this point require a master's. I'm in a clinical psych program, and to even be considered for anything other than entry level you need at LEAST a master's and some EXP. I don't know a single job in the sciences, economics, accounting, medicine, or legal professions that is even mid-level and doesn't require at LEAST a masters.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I've got a decent paycheck coming my way when I finish my degree, if I go to industry. Engineering PhDs do well for themselves. I'm not planning to be rich, but I'll make more with a Ph.D. than I will with a Bachelors and a few years experience.

But the real reason here is I'll get to work on the more interesting problems.

 

[CycloWizard]

It always struck me as more of an insecurity thing. If I ever get my PhD, I'm certainly not going to make people call me "doctor".

I'm not sure why it would be an insecurity thing. It's a respect thing. What would your MD do if you called him mister? He probably wouldn't be terribly impressed. I don't tell anyone to call me doctor - I'm on a first-name basis with my students - but maybe that's because I'm insecure.

 

[CycloWizard]

to the person saying grad school doesn't net you any extra money over a bachelors:Are you f'ing high? Most fields above entry level at this point require a master's. I'm in a clinical psych program, and to even be considered for anything other than entry level you need at LEAST a master's and some EXP. I don't know a single job in the sciences, economics, accounting, medicine, or legal professions that is even mid-level and doesn't require at LEAST a masters.

Studies have been written on the subject, and I'm sure you'll become familiar with them once you've been in school for a while longer: you won't recoup the lost wages and costs of grad school even with your increased salary. There are tons of science, medical, and legal jobs that one can do with a bachelors degree - just ask my lab tech, any nurse, or most paralegals. I would have started at around $60k in industry with a BS in chemical engineering. Instead, I spent five years in grad school (1 for masters at $12k/yr, 4 for PhD at $18k/yr). That puts me in the hole $216k relative to the potential job with a BS, even if I hadn't gotten any raises/promotions in the meanwhile. Assuming I make $80k/year after PhD, it will take 11 years to make that back, again assuming no raises/promotions on either end. Upward mobility on the payscale is limited for PhDs since you start near the top (with some notable exceptions), while most of my friends with a BS are making $80k/yr by the time I finished my PhD. There are plenty of other economic factors which make the PhD less favorable, let alone the mental/social/physical costs involved. Clinical psych may be an exception, but your way of thinking about things is very oversimplified, which tells me you're in your first 1-2 years of grad school.

 

[sygyzy]

When did you realize all this CycloWizard? As in, before or after you decided to do your masters and phd?

 

[MrMatt]

Studies have been written on the subject, and I'm sure you'll become familiar with them once you've been in school for a while longer: you won't recoup the lost wages and costs of grad school even with your increased salary. There are tons of science, medical, and legal jobs that one can do with a bachelors degree - just ask my lab tech, any nurse, or most paralegals. I would have started at around $60k in industry with a BS in chemical engineering. Instead, I spent five years in grad school (1 for masters at $12k/yr, 4 for PhD at $18k/yr). That puts me in the hole $216k relative to the potential job with a BS, even if I hadn't gotten any raises/promotions in the meanwhile. Assuming I make $80k/year after PhD, it will take 11 years to make that back, again assuming no raises/promotions on either end. Upward mobility on the payscale is limited for PhDs since you start near the top (with some notable exceptions), while most of my friends with a BS are making $80k/yr by the time I finished my PhD. There are plenty of other economic factors which make the PhD less favorable, let alone the mental/social/physical costs involved. Clinical psych may be an exception, but your way of thinking about things is very oversimplified, which tells me you're in your first 1-2 years of grad school.

My pay with a bachelor's in psych is really capped at around 30K. If I got into something of a house-manager type management position with a company after a year or two I might hit 40K. PhD (even Master's actually) and licensing I'd start at maybe 60K rock bottom, and when I go private practice I'll end up anywhere from 80-150k.

 

[Ruptga]

It always struck me as more of an insecurity thing. If I ever get my PhD, I'm certainly not going to make people call me "doctor".

But you already are the Doctor

 

[TechBoyJK]

That's what I didn't get, I was doing something that would help her recover her finals she had already finished, SAVE her a couple hundred bucks, AND I wasn't asking for anything in return (ITB, Pics, etc.)

ITB? Can you explain? Not sure what that means.. Pics are helpful

 

[RoloMather]

You taught her a good lesson.

 

[alphatarget1]

I'm in grad school and am happy with my low, but stable income, unlike many of my peers who have been laid off. Or the class of 08/09 who can't find jobs.

 

[TheVrolok]

Med school != grad school. Med school is easy, has a good return on investment, and doesn't require a dissertation. Thus, one could conceivably make it through med school with some degree of sanity intact. Merely entering a PhD program, however, earns you a certificate of insanity.

:roll; PhD student propaganda.

 

[neutralizer]

I'm in grad school and am happy with my low, but stable income, unlike many of my peers who have been laid off. Or the class of 08/09 who can't find jobs.

Depends on field. Most of those in science and engineering still kept their job and are still being hired.

 

[alphatarget1]

Depends on field. Most of those in science and engineering still kept their job and are still being hired.

Civil engineering kind of got pwned... So much for the stimulus cash. I actually wouldn't say "most of those in science and engineering still kept the job and are still being hired". A friend who is doing his phD in chemical engineering said anyone who graduated after May 08 can't find jobs. 60-70% of my sister's materials engineering graduating class can't find jobs from what she has told me.

 

[MrMatt]

ITB? Can you explain? Not sure what that means.. Pics are helpful

hahahhahaha

 

[Cattlegod]

Civil engineering kind of got pwned... So much for the stimulus cash. I actually wouldn't say "most of those in science and engineering still kept the job and are still being hired". A friend who is doing his phD in chemical engineering said anyone who graduated after May 08 can't find jobs. 60-70% of my sister's materials engineering graduating class can't find jobs from what she has told me.

i have an undergrad in engineering and am graduating from grad school in 2 weeks. i have two job offers and still have my old job.

 

[Siddhartha]

Not talking to 95% of the people in your program probably says more about you than the others in your program.

 

[Hacp]

Civil engineering kind of got pwned... So much for the stimulus cash. I actually wouldn't say "most of those in science and engineering still kept the job and are still being hired". A friend who is doing his phD in chemical engineering said anyone who graduated after May 08 can't find jobs. 60-70% of my sister's materials engineering graduating class can't find jobs from what she has told me.

Yes Obama totally messed up the stimulus. Instead of using it to invest in critical parts of our nation's infastructure like a new rail system or new nuclear plants, he chose to use it to boost entitlement programs and hire/give raises to government union workers.

 

[Bignate603]

I would have started at around $60k in industry with a BS in chemical engineering. Instead, I spent five years in grad school (1 for masters at $12k/yr, 4 for PhD at $18k/yr).

Sounds like you should have stopped after your masters. I agree that Phds often don't pay off but the return on a masters is better because it requires significantly less work and often can be done while working, depending on your program. Hell, my job is going to pay my tuition when I start my master's level classes next year.

 

[bdude]

Med school != grad school. Med school is easy, has a good return on investment, and doesn't require a dissertation. Thus, one could conceivably make it through med school with some degree of sanity intact. Merely entering a PhD program, however, earns you a certificate of insanity.

news to me.

 

[olds]

OP, change your name to MsMatt 'cause you whine like a bitch.

 

[silverpig]

Studies have been written on the subject, and I'm sure you'll become familiar with them once you've been in school for a while longer: you won't recoup the lost wages and costs of grad school even with your increased salary. There are tons of science, medical, and legal jobs that one can do with a bachelors degree - just ask my lab tech, any nurse, or most paralegals. I would have started at around $60k in industry with a BS in chemical engineering. Instead, I spent five years in grad school (1 for masters at $12k/yr, 4 for PhD at $18k/yr). That puts me in the hole $216k relative to the potential job with a BS, even if I hadn't gotten any raises/promotions in the meanwhile. Assuming I make $80k/year after PhD, it will take 11 years to make that back, again assuming no raises/promotions on either end. Upward mobility on the payscale is limited for PhDs since you start near the top (with some notable exceptions), while most of my friends with a BS are making $80k/yr by the time I finished my PhD. There are plenty of other economic factors which make the PhD less favorable, let alone the mental/social/physical costs involved. Clinical psych may be an exception, but your way of thinking about things is very oversimplified, which tells me you're in your first 1-2 years of grad school.

Actually it's worse than that. I was going to do a 5-year Ph.D in physics (plus at least 2 yrs of post-doc work), then decided on shelling out a ton of cash for a 2 year MBA. I'll be in a much better position in 7 years this way.

This decision has been further supported by the fact that I now know terms like NPV and opportunity cost, and can tell you that the $216k you're behind could have been invested and grown to about $400k. Oh well.

 

[silverpig]

A friend of mine already plans on doing a triple PhD. Talk about being really out of his mind.

That's the kind of thing I might do if I inherited $100m or something. And I'd do it all in stuff like economics, history, and archeology.

 

[alkemyst]

I posted here recently about some lunatics in my grad program talking about me hitting on girls in my program, saying I was already married or had a gf, and other nonsense. This has only gotten worse, ironically even as I've pretty much stopped talking to 95% of the people in the program.

Well, thursday evening I had another great exchange with a classmate. This girl in my class is doing her finals, and her laptop shits out on her. Corruption in some system file in XP. I offer to fix it for her (i know, I know. But we have finals due in a little over a week and that really does suck). She says 'great'. We have this exchange:

Her: Great, when can you do it?
Me: Well I work tomorrow, saturday & sunday. Sunday afternoon I could help though.
Her: Ugh, you can't do it tomorrow? Do you work all day, like noon to midnight?
Me: No I work 2-10.
Her: Do you roll out of bed at 1:59 and go to work?
Me: No, I get up at 9, eat breakfast, go to the gym, have a steak or something, then go to work.
Her: *walking away from me* this is RETARDED. I do not want to hear about your eating habits.
Me: Whargarbl.

So later I start getting text messages from her, about when I'm going to fix it for her, and what is wrong with me for not wanting to. Seriously. She walks away mid conversation, calls me a retard, and still expects me to help her the next day. I send a reply to her, along the lines of: "Being a bitch may help you fit in at BC but it gets you nowhere with me. Have fun at Best Buy. Try calling them retards, I heard that makes the Geek Squad work faster". Seriously though, what the FUCK is wrong with people in this program?? This girl is 24 years old and still acting like an entitled bitch.

wow dude, I somehow think you are the problem not all the rest of the grads...

why are you looking to stick with this program if it's so fucked up.

You going to University of Guam or something?