What is PHD about?

toll123 SG

we have a very famous PHD as in Dr Chee Laughing

Icemoon SG

you will get to publish paper. Sometimes even as first author.

unless your research is so ulu that you don't collaborate, not even with your supervisor.

ah_tee SG

wif ur basic degree, u could be in the mid-high mgt next time, but wif a Ph.D, u might be in the top management in no time

i think the 3 yrs of non-progression in career is neglible, dun believe, go open classfifieds, u be surprised they are offering 5 digits for Ph.d positions

u may like gaming or wad, but i hope ur realise, reality is something n dreams are another, programming is ground work, and prolly mid-low management position

u may not be a programmer, but u may have programmers working for u next time

always plan for the future, u might think ur degree is ok for now, but if u think again, singapore is progressing so fast now, ur degree will be a basic qualification 10yrs down the road

if u realise perhaps, 10-20 yrs ago, the basic education for society penetration is Os and Ns, do u see jobs for them now ?

now mostly is Dips and As, while degrees are still considered advance education,

with the rate it is going dun be suprised basic degrees takeover dips in no time

i m sure many of us here, wants to be porn stars as well, but then.....

n seems like no one got the acronym correct

Ph.D = Doctorate in philosophy

our regular medical officers are

D.SC = Doctorate in Science, a.ka medicine

so mate, not many pple have chances like u, grab it if ur family can afford or if ur offer a scholarship

my friend, who is also doing his Ph.d at the same time in NTU, so-called sells his thesis back to NTU at the same time for 1000plus a month, imagine being paid to be studying, how nice , of cos ur thesis will be published as NTU 's works n not yours

i have always been thinking abt futhuring my diploma, but then being the eldest son in a average singapore family, i guess i got to shelve it off for sometime

so plan hard, talk to ur professor, dun ask ard in forums, as i believe much of the crowd here are actually alot more younger than us, no offence

paper qualification in singapore is everything, the higher it gets, the better money you have

Icemoon SG

Well .. you should have gotten your job 10-20 years ago liao right? Laughing

By now, you might be in some middle to high level position liao.

I believe the key is to stay relevant.

Icemoon SG

What do you expect proffy to say?

A good one will ask - do you have the passion?

Paper qualification is not everything. Just meet the requirement. The rest is up to you and the job you do.

There is always on the job training and paper qualification *outside* the university. For example, CFA for business, CCNA for computer networks etc.

Eshofuni SG

.. as mentioned.. it will depend on the industry n the career move u make..

what i know and mentioned above about Phd is you must publish at least 2 to 3 papers as 1st author ... depending on course requirement whether it need to be published on high rating journals..

Phd is a very specialised degree.. and normally people spent 3 to 4 yrs finishing it... according to my friends who are pursuing it, is a torture as time goes on unless u have great interest in it..

.. i have tot of doing a phd but will need a topic of interest to start with..

fymk SG

Advice for you :

Are you interested in the topic at all? If not, don't bother because for the next 3 years , you will be eating and breathing it in your head.

Do you know of anyone who worked with the prof before? I know that there are some profs who use students to do their dirty work aka writting papers , then they snatch the papers and claim credit as first author . Tenures for professors always come with a condition that they continually publish , hence they do this. And some just leave you to swim in the deep blue ocean. If his rep is clean with his previous students, then you should be ok.

As a PhD , you do not just publish 2-3 papers. You need more than that. You have to publish alot of papers relating to the topic you are interested in.

Don't think a PhD will get you a good job. It depends on where you got your PhD from .

a-Lost-9uY SG

phd is poly halfway dropout Laughing

sermodabian SG

I dunno about your discipline, but PHD usually involves very very in-depth and intense research on a particular subject of interest, and would involve a lot of background studies, maybe field studies and at the end of the day produce lengthy accounts, which should involve new information from your part. People who do PHD usually want to be academics at higher institutions which would require that expertise in the area of knowledge he or she has researched on.

And if you become an academic at higher institutions, basically your life would be spent mainly on teaching and research, and writing papers.

Yeah and you really need to have the interest to pursue it. I am already dying halfway through my masters thesis.

Nelstar SG

Just aim to publish a 1000-page thesis on whichever field.

You get a phD, Permanent Hand Damage.

Laughing

autumncs SG

I'm also a final year student and I'm facing a similar dilemma... I dunno whether I should get a higher degree first or work first...

I'm currently in NUS science. Looking at the market, it seems there is a saturation of BSc holders but a shortage of MSc & PhD holders... (as reflected in TODAY's article "the life sciences conundrum" in Oct 2006). Hence, it's a sensible idea to pursue a MSc or PhD after my graduation.... My prof also encouraged me to go for further study.

But the problem is, I have no idea what to do for my MSc or PhD... In the previous posts, some of you mentioned that in order to do MSc or PhD, you need a direction and an interest in the area of research. But right now I have no direction at all. I'm now doing my FYP, but the topic of my FYP is something that I have no interest in. (I took this project because the projects that I'm interested in were highly competitive and they were already taken in advance.)

If I continue onto MSc or PhD, my research area will definitely not be related to my FYP. I have interest in other areas, but unfortunately I have no exposure in my interested areas. (I only learn the hard facts & theories, but I never have any hands-on experience.) Also, after spending 4 years of NUS, I no longer want to stay in Singapore. I want to pursue my MSc or PhD elsewhere. But, so far I have no idea where to go and what to do. I also consider working first. But, with so many BSc graduates, it's hard to find a decent job. There is a belief that if a BSc holder doesn't go for MSc or PhD, he/she will end up washing test-tubes.

On the other hand, it's a different scenario for engineering. After a rigourous curriculum, B.Eng graduates are highly valued. The starting salaries for B.Eng graduates are high (> $2500+++), so most of my friends in Engin would rather work first. (Some of my engin friends have already received job offers, with starting salaries as high as $2900!!!) In comparison, the scenario for BSc graduates is bleak. They are not as highly valued (and highly paid) as B.Eng graduates, and BSc graduates have to fight ferociously among themselves for jobs or MSc/PhD places in an already over-saturated market.

Recently, I saw an advertisment about an one-year internship program. The internship topic is something that I'm interested in, and the internship has a allowance of $2000 per month. However, my friends are not very supportive of this program. They say that this internship doesn't offer any academic qualifications. They say I should spend the one year to pursue a MSc, or to work and earn more money. But how can I pursue MSc of PhD if I don't have a direction and interest? I'm already suffering for my FYP and it's scary to go through all that again for MSc or PhD... And how can I find work in such a competitive market?

I'm graduating in half a year's time, and I'm already feeling worried & confused... Sad

Meat Pao SG

I have PhD as well.

Pretty Huge Di..

Oh sorry.

Meat Pao, PhD.

fymk SG

An internship is a good idea if you do not know where to proceed. Don't care about what your friends say.

Academia is nothing without work experience. I work with people who did their PhDs after gaining some work experience. Those who did their PhD straight after school seem to be working as poorly paid post doctoral research assistants while those who have the work experience from which they get their professional networks , have a good deal above those post doctorals .

Remember you cannot beat a PhD holder from Oxford, Cambridge , MIT, Ivy Leagues , UCLA etc , to demand top level pay unless you form your professional networks. It is not how much you know now , it is about who you know as well.

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