1 yr. ago • 86%

The government is offering advanced degrees; what do you study?

You can get any graduate degree, masters or Ph.D. in whatever you want. What do you choose?

33 comments

I'm european. That's already how these things work.

78
- Same. * high fives *
  
  10
- Not everywhere in Europe
  
  4
  
  True, only in the GOOD parts 😛
  
  11
- In the US, PhDs, in STEM at least, are fully funded. Either by research or teaching assistanship. This is the same as in Europe and students are frequently exchanged.
  
  You'll only be paying for yourself if you're in art history or something stupid like that (even then you could get a TA) or you haven't demonstrated that you're smart enough to get a PhD.
  
  Edit: it's so weird how this completely factual statement has been so controversial. I actually went through this process.
  
  1
- That’s wonderful. I’m glad education is accessible.
  
  I’m going to go cry in the back corner now, because haha… America #1… in student loan debt.
  
  1
The government is offering advanced degrees

You can get any graduate degree, masters or Ph.D. in whatever you want.

That's how it works in my country

32
I'm dreading the thought of more school :(

I already did my time

23
- Permanently Deleted
  
  5
  
  https://schoolprisons.com/
  
  6
  
  Just make sure you get someone to give you tutorial answers the first day or you'll become the one giving someone else the answers.
  
  2
  
  It gets like that.
  
  Once you're a few years in, you can't really leave without starting over or being ABD, which is a really bad resume blemish (because it usually happens to people who aren't smart enough for a PhD and get kicked out with the consolation prize).
  
  Although, there is a really prominent researcher in my field who only has a master's. It's like, you know if I were on your committee, you could just staple a few of your papers together, and I would sign off on a PhD.
  
  2
It took me 6 seconds to realize OP's statement was an hypothetical.

The answer would be nothing. The best day of my life was the moment I exited my last exam room.

12
PhD in electrical engineering. Only thing stopping me is that I can't afford it.

6
- Umm.
  
  PhDs in things like engineering are typically fully funded. They paid me while I did mine. It's not much, but it's enough to live on.
  
  Art history, sure, you pay for yourself.
  
  In STEM, you would get an RA or at least a TA.
  
  10
  
  I don't have a masters, just a bachelors. My school basically requires you to have a masters degree to get a PhD, which I would be 1000% willing to do if I had financial support. I think it is unlikely that I would get any kind of help from the school considering my GPA when I left (~2.8) and that I for certain pissed off instructors I would be working with. I had trouble the last few semesters because I was running out of money all the time and couldn't really focus.
  
  Also, I literally don't have the money to fill out the application for a masters degree. I literally have about $3. My parents won't give me the money for that because they want me to get a job. I have applied for well over a hundred positions, and had zero offers and about four total interviews.
  
  Like I would be literally thrilled to go back to school, but I would be surprised if the school were interested in helping me. So as I write this out, I'm realizing that it's not just a money issue...
  
  2
I want a PhD in procrastination and busywork.

6
- You just need a bachelor's in finance or accounting, and then go work for the government.
  
  5
Horticulture

3
- Hey! When I was little, I wanted to be botanist.
  
  3
Degrees don't mean much to me and you can learn almost anything for free these days. Now, having good mentors would be cool, but I went to college and there weren't any there either.

3
- People underestimate the quality of a good teacher/mentor. Not saying that this is necessarily found at an institution.
  
  3
  
  Yeah I've only had one or two "good" teachers in any schooling I did. I wouldn't consider any of them as mentors. Definitely had a bunch of crappy ones too.
  
  1
Permanently Deleted

3
Do you still need prerequisites? Not like I could do an advanced PhD in physics even if it was free.

2
Physics.

1
if I'm guaranteed some kind of job as well - history PhD probably

1
If there was a course in carpentry, I would take that.

0
- I started to learn some of that during the pandemic. With a good square, circular saw, and drill you can get started. I've gotten into building some relatively simple furniture now and am basically just using those tools still.
  
  1
  
  I have a circular saw, a miter saw, a small table saw, an oscillating saw, a square, and a drill. (Among other tools.) I've been able to learn how to install trim and flooring, replace deck boards, and build shelving.
  
  At some point I'd love to learn how to make a bench.
  
  0
Finger smells.

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-4
- I'm fairly certain the board of ethics is not going to okay this experiment.
  
  2
  
  The US government had experiments that involved jacking dolphins off, so I think there's a way for this to work
  
  3

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