Is a PhD in physics worth it?

[BadgerBadger92]

I had not looked at the OP's previous threads until you mentioned them. You should have. The current assumption is that the OP is an HS senior. His previous posts cast much doubt on that. This might change the advice given in this thread.

So why did I ask this question? The OP is like many we have seen, and the advice following was reasonable. I felt I could not contribute, so I stayed out of it until the OP stated he was afraid of asking questions here. What got past me was his possible reaction or reference to previous posts on other topics that might not have been received well. Anyway trying to explore this fear led to the revelation of his mental condition which in my opinion greatly changed the way this thread should be handled. Stress is one thing that schizophrenics usually find difficult to adapt to. A physics major is under a lot of stress. I expected that he would know this and have considered this in his plan. In self-study you regulate your pace and can devote as much time to a topic as you need. Not so in university let alone graduate school.

@BadgerBadger92 go to CC and then consider university. Graduate with a GPA>3.5 then consder the options. Know Thyself.

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I already finished high school, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to school. I’m 32 currently. That’s another problem. It may be too late to go back to college

 

[WWGD]

I already finished high school, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to school. I’m 32 currently. That’s another problem. It may be too late to go back to college

It's clearly an outlier, but I saw news about this 90 y.o who had graduated college. Just don't put it off until 2082 and you'll be Ok.

 

[BadgerBadger92]

It's clearly an outlier, but I saw news about this 90 y.o who had graduated college. Just don't put it off until 2082 and you'll be Ok.

Thanks for all your input! Your comments mean a lot. I just hope pros like you will be patient with me.

 

[BadgerBadger92]

Hi, @BadgerBadger92

I would personally choose to study a PhD; the reason is not other that I love studying.

I also suffer that disease. Don't give up!

Marcos

It certainly sucks.

 

[jtbell]

I haven't read all of your previous posts, just skimmed their titles, so I don't know what kind of jobs you've had since high school, let alone whether they would allow a reasonable career path if your projected physics path doesn't work out.

You're starting at age 32. Allowing 4 years for an undergraduate degree, then 6 years for a PhD, puts you at age 42, maybe a year or two more.

(I took the standard 4 years for my undergraduate physics degree, and 7 years for my PhD. This was in experimental particle physics, and my research group wasn't in a hurry to kick me out because they apparently valued my programming skills. And this was over 40 years ago.)

After you get a PhD, you'd probably do one or two post-doctoral research positions (at 1-2 years each) before you can (hopefully) land a tenure-track university faculty position. That puts you maybe in your mid 40s. By the time you get tenure (another 7 years), you're in your 50s.

You should at least have some off-ramps in mind if you don't make it through the entire gauntlet. They can be based on what you've been working at so far, and on whatever skills you pick up during your physics education.

I was good at programming, so I figured if grad school didn't work out, I could go that way. In the end, I did finish a PhD, but decided I'd rather go into a teaching-oriented career than a research-oriented one. That was what I in fact ended up doing, at a small teaching-oriented college. I mostly enjoyed that career, met my wife here, and we're now both retired.

I don't regret my "failed" research experience, because I enjoyed it while I was doing it, and the resulting PhD got me the position that I had until I retired.