<p>My dad told me about pursuing a PhD and get paid instead of pursuing a masters and get broke. How much more proficient do you have to be in college in order to be accepted into PhD programs compared to masters programs? Moreover, how do you know whether or not a PhD program will eat you alive?</p>
<p>Obviously, it all revolves around research. I’m a freshmen and I’m starting out as a lab assistant in the coming semester. By the end, I’ll might have 3.5 years of lab assistant research under my belt. Is that really necessary or is it really just redundant.</p>
<p>depends on what program you want to do your PhD and what school you want to go to. PhD programs at least in the sciences mostly offer tuition waivers and stipends so u dont really have to pay for tuition. obviously, the higher the program rank, the harder it is to get in. but it all revolves on how good your overall application and strength as a future grad student.</p>
<p>You should ask the question after you see if you LOVE research or not. If you don’t absolutely love the scientific rigor of research, PhD will be a long, winding road of hell.</p>
<p>Deciding to pursue a PhD is all about deciding if a research career is rewarding for you. You can get a job with a masters or a PhD.With a PhD, you are more likely to be in a position of guiding projects, but you will also be more likely to have a job that requires 24/7 involvement. With a BA/BS or MS, you are more likely to have a research technician position and a job that begins and ends as you enter and leave your place of employment (9-5 job, but more likely 8-6).</p>
<p>Graduate students make very little money and so in real terms you are losing potential salary that you’d be earning if you entered the job market directly.</p>