It's tricky - I feel like those who get PhD out of true deep love and talent for a field find their way through to happiness.
But sadly, a lot of people go into it for the wrong reasons (family pressure, ego, not knowing what else to do) and alas it doesn't often work out.
I remember on-campus interviewing an Indian guy who got a BS, MS and now PhD in chemistry, only to realize that he doesn't have a passion for it. That's tragic because all this money/lost time down, he's competing with undergrads for entry level roles. Meanwhile kids that finished undergrad around the same time are already starting to become managers.
The world needs PhD level people -- but I just think that your heart has to be into it 10000% and then you'll make it work.
It's pretty easy to be jaded by the end of a PhD even if you went into it for the field. You often don't get true academic freedom until you get a tenure track professorship, which is increasingly hard to come by. Even then you need to spend a lot of time on showmanship.
Doing a PhD for the sake of it is still arguable IMO, I don't regret doing mine. But I wish I didn't go in with the delusion I was pursuing a long term career in academia. Post-PhD academia is a hell of a slog.
But sadly, a lot of people go into it for the wrong reasons (family pressure, ego, not knowing what else to do) and alas it doesn't often work out.
I remember on-campus interviewing an Indian guy who got a BS, MS and now PhD in chemistry, only to realize that he doesn't have a passion for it. That's tragic because all this money/lost time down, he's competing with undergrads for entry level roles. Meanwhile kids that finished undergrad around the same time are already starting to become managers.
The world needs PhD level people -- but I just think that your heart has to be into it 10000% and then you'll make it work.