Should You Do a PhD? Researcher's Test Hasn't Changed in 10 Years
qi2peng2 · x · 2026-10-12
Researcher qi2peng2 offers a timeless three-step test for whether to pursue a CS PhD, arguing it applied 10 years ago and still applies today:
- Want fame and fortune? Skip it, go work in industry.
- Just love research? See the next point.
- Love research regardless of difficulty and the opportunity cost of fame and fortune? Do it.
In his view, the calculus of a PhD hasn't changed over the years — only what you personally want has.
More from Companies & People
- OpenAI showed why AI self-policing is dangerous, ex-DeepMind researcher argues in op-ed — Turn_Trout · 2026-10-13
- AI-Native Studios Can Create Original IP While Traditional Studios Keep Their Edge, Says VFX Veteran at Busan — lmoroney · 2026-10-13
- LlamaIndex Recaps SF Tech Week: Agent Economy Gala Drew 500+ Founders and Investors — llama_index · 2026-10-13
- Inside Ramp, Shopify, Snap, Stripe and Uber's software factories: agents write 3/4 of Ramp's merged PRs — Pavan_Belagatti · 2026-10-13
- SpeedHacks crowns 2026 winners: Phylax tops 81-project speedrun hackathon at SF Tech Week — emax · 2026-10-13
- Musk disputes Garry Tan's foundation model thesis: 'not at all what we see with Grok' — elonmusk · 2026-10-13