Stanford prof pushes back on 'PhDs cost more than lab techs': senior PhDs are lab workhorses
anshulkundaje · x · 2026-11-10
Pushing back on the claim that labs would rather hire a lab tech than pay a PhD's full stipend plus indirect costs, Stanford professor Anshul Kundaje calls the argument "ridiculously wrong" for STEM at top schools: beyond their second year, CS/STEM grad students are highly autonomous and effectively postdoc-equivalent, forming the lifeblood of their labs.
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