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I've noticed the ph.d students in my dept are in their late 20s and early 30s and all of them said they had to save money in order to go to grad school... even the teaching fellows I know said the same thing.
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<p>I didn't object to saving money for graduate school, I was warning you against expecting to have saved enough to be anything close to 'not poor' while you're in graduate school. These students you've talked to saved up to be able to afford food and rent without sinking neck-deep in debt, not to 'assure maintenance of a certain lifestyle.'</p>
<p>Where did you find a job in insurance that pays six figures in your first year? The average salary for an insurance agent in the US with 20+ years of experience is $47k; fresh graduates usually get $30k. Is it the family business?</p>
<p>no its not a family business.. not my family, but there was lots of networking involved.. all the insurance agents where I work make about $100k - $200k ..</p>
<p>If you can't handle the idea of living simply for 6-8 years, do not even think about getting a PhD and go into the academia. It's a nomadic lifestyle and you will need to find a very supportive wife who will be willing to travel to all kinds of location wherever you find a job. Geography is the last factor when it comes to looking for a job where your PhD can be useful.</p>
<p>You can't just get your PhD in a "studies", you have to choose a specific discipline like history or political science. Even if you find such program, look at their track record.</p>
<p>i don't want to be an ******* (okay, maybe i do), but i'm not sure a PhD is the thing for you. it pretty much requires a certain lifestyle you seem unwilling to live, so maybe just stick with your insurance job.</p>
<p>I AM beyond confused. How are you going to school if you are working enough to make over six figures a year? Why are your parents paying for you education if you are making that much. I have to be missing something;)</p>
<p>I'm a girl so I won't be having a wife lol... I'll have a hubby. I KNOW academia doesn't offer much money... seriously this went from a simple question of whether I should double major to whether I need money or not.. talk about digression. </p>
<p>FYI, Ph.d is something I want to do for myself not for money... so this forum kinda sucks cuz all of you really know how to shatter someone's dreams. I don't want to spend the rest of my life working 60 hrs a week... eventually I wouldn't mind making less money for something I'm interested in.. ever heard of working to reach a goal w/ any means necessary. Just so happened I found a job that makes me good money and I'll stick to it until I decide to do my Ph.D, which again won't be probably a good couple of years down the line. </p>
<p>I'm gonna make my parents pay b/c hell if they have the money why should I spend my own? </p>
<p>Thanks for the analysis on my life... much appreciated.</p>
<p>FYI, I just got emails back from a bunch of grad schools and they ALL said the same thing.. it doesn't matter how long one takes to grad as long as they have the courses and the grades and the language if needed. also, it doesn't matter if someone does a double major or has minors, even if the fields arent related.. man I feel bad for the ppl who have been fed wrong info from other undergrad possibly hs students.</p>
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this forum kinda sucks cuz all of you really know how to shatter someone's dreams
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<p>NRL, the internet is not a sheltered place. If, without any prompting, an OP provides information on her marriage plans, lifestyle expectations, parents' financial situation etc., she's just setting herself up for arm-chair analysis. If you do not want comments on these aspects of your life, you should not advertise them.</p>
<p>Also, you appear to have misunderstood our replies to your post. Not a single one of us insinuated that how long it takes to graduate affects chances of admission, or that a double major meant anything (in fact, I'm sure a few people literally said "double majors don't matter"). The reason we generally advise against taking too long to graduate, or increasing workload for a second degree, is because it's usually a bad move financially, and a waste of a year that could be used to further a career with internships or other field experience.</p>
<p>One last thing: if you consider three or four strangers in cyberspace saying a doctorate may not be the best path for you "shattering your dreams," then you really need to work on thickening your skin before you enter a PhD program. Conference attendees, grant committees, and journal editors are not known for their supportive natures.</p>
<p>To the OP...this hasn't been a personal attack. There are some serious life questions driving all of this debate. Studying to get a PhD is about choosing a lifestyle, not just a degree to pursue. It dictates how much money you make, where you live, who you meet, and what you do. The magnitude of the decision is often understated...you have to ask yourself if you'll be OK with a middling career, where only the great are recognized and the rest are scrutinized. You won't make much money, so there had better be personal satisfaction in the work. </p>
<p>This forum, in fact, has been pretty cordial. No one is looking to shatter your dreams--just consider the fact that as someone pursuing a PhD, you're competing with the 98th percentile of all people. Not everyone can have their parents foot the bill. You are competing with the best and brightest in many cases, and it is cut-throat. Few jobs are to be had, and the good ones are filled by the most qualified people. No one is expected to have a life planned out at the age of 18--that's more a negative than a positive--but it isn't the easiest thing to imagine a person who cannot attain a 3.0 suddenly having the desire to dedicate his/her life to studying when that wasn't clear before. It can happen for sure, and perhaps that is your case--but we aren't admissions officers nor are we faculty deciding who receives research funding. It's the job of a forum to provide the broad swath of possibilities, not just the rosy "you'll love your work, make good money if you work hard, and live happily ever after" side of things.</p>