Re:Why I'm Getting a PhD
by betterunix on Monday September 16, 2013 @02:29PM
(#6394882)
You do not get paid a lot in a PhD program. Where I am the pay is barely enough for one person to live on. There is also the time commitment -- a lot of programs demand 60 or more hours per week from their students. The combination basically means that starting a family is impossible while you are a PhD student, unless you have a spouse who has a comfortable income / family money.
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If you do not mind a small adventure, consider moving to another country or continent. PhD positions in some countries (e.g. The Netherlands) are paid quite ok, with few distractions (usually fully focused on research), and a 40-hour work week.
Of course, there is good competition, so it might be harder to get such a position.
In Australia, with a scholarship and a few hours a week TAing during term time, I made enough to buy a half a million dollar apartment with my wife who was on a new-graduate nursing salary. She then got pregnant just as I finished up (good motivation to write fast, that was!)
YMMV but if you're thinking you're being used for cheap slave labour, you're in the wrong university.