For me the reason to get a Phd is self achievement, accomplishment. And has the rights to use Dr. XXX in my grave stone when i die.
Keke...

cause i dont want to work for the time being..i love school

Contribute to advancement of humankind(but imma in a state of considering imma walking down taht road or not. lol)

wow, people take up phd for the love of knowledge but you do it for the title. Wow, just wow.

he is being sacarstic lah... i find a lot of phd holders and candidate tend to be very negative/self-depreciating, but the work you are doing on research is actually helping someone somewhere think about things differently. whether you are getting paid enough is another thing

title and love of knowledge can come together.
otherwise, one can just pay 10K to get a Phd certificate,
if solely love of knowledge, one not neccessary to go thru the Phd path, can just finish reading all the books in the library.

This post has been edited by cheahcw2003: Feb 20 2013, 05:58 PM

Title is just a bonus. Something optional, that's all. Pay 10k to get a PhD cert? I guess it makes sense why these days so many rubbish thesis full of plagiarism is common.

the 10K cert one is no need to do thesis one. just pay then can attend the convocation in US already.
With the Turn it in software, no way to plagiarise...

I'm doing my PhD in Drug Discovery Biology simply because:

1. I love pursuing science and knowledge and want to have a better understanding of my field.

2. I dislike having to accept 'what something is' without understanding 'why something is'.

3. More career options and potentially better career progression (compared to if I just had a bachelor's degree).

4. Prestige. Yes prestige, but that's an added bonus.

5. I want to be a positive impact to society, science and healthcare.

Main reasons people get phD cos cant get a job. For courses which are not that useful in Malaysia like Biology, Sociology, Islamic studies, etc, it is very difficult to get a job and the only way for a job is to be a lecturer which required phd. When study phd some also will get alowances so that is the only path for them.

Do you prefer lecturers that have a lot of industry experience (but without Phd), compared to lecturers have Phd but zero industry experience.

PhD for the contribution to the whatsoever field that we're in. Knowledge to change the world

It really depends on what the lecture is on. If it is on theoretical matters, only someone with a PhD will suffice because they are usually at the forefront of research (at least that's how it is in a decent university). If it is on purely practical matters, then someone with noteworthy industry experience and achievement will do a better job.

Note however that there are a lot of PhD degree holders out there who are also leaders in the field in industry and hence can speak not only from experience, but also from their deep understanding of the subject being also involved in research.

As farmer_C has righty said it, that cannot be applied to all fields.

You can't expect a sociologist, a historian, a psychologist, or those in the pure science to work in the industrial corporate setting. For them, research activities are their "experience".

So, I believe you are referring to those in the business field.

However, I wouldn't say those working in the industry are the best teachers. Or they would have the best experience.

Let's compare a logistic manager working in the industry for 20 years with a professor (with zero hands-on indusrial experience) but who have actively carried out research for 20 years. Who has better experience here? It really depends.

The logistic manager may have hands-on working experience in two to five companies for over 20 years (his experience is only limited to the companies he worked in before) but a professor who have personally carried out research in the logistic area have seen the business outcomes/performance of several companies for over 20 years.

The same can be said between an accountant and an auditor. An accountant may personally prepare the accounts in one company but an auditor who checked the accounts of several companies is often said to have collected more experience than an accountant, although the auditor is not the one who prepare the accounts.

I just start my Phd. I am doing it because of my supervisor request. He keep asking me after i finished my master because short of phd student . So i took it. Feel regret but it already to late.

So u ended up doing your own research topic that u interested in, or u r helping your Supervisor to do his/her research?
It is a cheaper way for your supervisor to get a research assistant by just ask u to study PhD.

Im doing his reseach, become GRA for 4 month and then got mybrain. So right now im doing all his research for free

What's your research on?

The person doing PhD in logistics obtain the knowledge through paper, survey, research.

They don't gain much on the practical hands-on.

Whereas the logistics manager may have involve much on industrial area, aka they know best of what other companies are doing too as it won't differs too much on logistics fields.

This post has been edited by you90: Mar 12 2013, 12:07 PM

That is why i said free RA.
But it's ok, u got what u want ( Dr. Title in 3 years perhaps), and your supervisor got a free and cheap RA,