PhD vs. Start a Career

D thinks she wants to continue from her undergrad to a PhD program. Her career office is suggesting that is the best course of action. Double major is Math/CS. She thinks she’d like to do a PhD in AI/ML. I think she should get out into the working world and see what’s necessary for grad education and give her some time to explore careers.

Is it okay to apply for jobs and PhD programs at the same time? I think once she sees that she can get a job with decent pay, she might change her mind. As a math major, I expect she could crunch the numbers and make a better decision at that point. I also think it would be fairly easy to work for a company that would finance her Masters if she really wants to continue her education.

So, PhD apps and job apps?

Sure. Lots of people do that.

Yes, and particularly if she wants to work at a big company, a lot of time the application cycles are relatively close anyway. (Some of the very biggest ones are actually earlier - Microsoft lets new college hires know by like February or early March, IIRC.)

Why is her career office saying that the PhD is the best option? It totally depends on her career goals.

@juillet, I have to clarify with her whether, when they said graduate degree, they meant a Masters or a Phd. I know she isn’t interested in academia but she does like research-based work. I was a little perplexed they didn’t feel she was employable with a bachelors because that’s what I’ve been reading now for two years. A masters will be difficult for her to afford…the original intent was to attempt to get a job that would help pay for that part-time. We are totally lost in this endeavor. She is in Budapest and so not really “present” as much as she should be imho.

Very good field to be in right now. I don’t see the harm in applying for both and seeing what happens. Probably a good idea to take the GRE while she’s still in the studious mindset, and those scores are good for 4-5 years.

With a double major in math/CS, she doesn’t need a master’s degree to get employed. Well, she wouldn’t “need” one regardless of what her field was, but math/CS is eminently employable in tech. One of my close friends is a software developer who works with AI and I was just chatting with him about this the other day; he’s his team lead and has only a BS, and everyone on his team has only a BS.

Has she done any internships? That can go a long way towards helping. But honestly, software development has more openings than people who can do the work.

I’d only encourage her towards a PhD if she’s keenly interested in working as a researcher - and specifically interested in high-level research as the principal investigator or leader. Lots of folks do research with master’s degrees, too, in the industry.