to ask if you have a PhD?

[Morgan12]

Looking for advice basically. I'm seriously considering applying for a PhD which hopefully will be funded by the uni as I can't afford the tuition fees (based in Scotland).

I was just wondering if you have one then do you think it was worth the hard work? Did it help your career?

Ideally I'd like a career in academia so would be great to hear from people in this field. If you would be willing to disclose what you earn then please do, even a ballpark figure. What are your day to day duties like etc?

Just really any experiences of PhD study welcome. I need to make a decision asap.

@starryeyed19 my DH has one in Byzantine history purely for the love of the subject. He now works in a field completely unrelated as there aren't many jobs where you could use it!

I’d like to do one.

Even this thread hasn’t put me off!

Just lost a massive reply...I'm a lecturer, I've been toying with the idea of undertaking a phd but I've been put off the idea lately. The process seems to take a massive emotional & mental toll and I'm not convinced the gains are worth it. I've heard of 2 supervisors turning on their students at the viva stage. The competitive & political nature of research doesn't end with the viva. A new colleague recently joined my workplace with a PhD...the existing Drs feel like everything has to be questioned/argued so instead of discusing a new programme it's like watching 2 toddlers argue about who had the toy first. In my experience my colleagues who have PhDs are not great at team work, while undoubtedly they are brilliant at research & writing. My manager is now very cautious about hiring Drs. I don't think I could undertake it unless I adored the topic, had a wonderful & experienced supervisor and my kids were finished school.

But Cant, for the vast majority of academic fields at university level, a doctorate is a prerequisite, not an optional extra that turns you into an ultra-competitive diva or non-team player.

@parthenope I totally see that.
Perhaps I'm lucky in that I got a teaching position when I did, although it does tie me to this organisation. A phd will certainly help open more doors, but ivea young family and feel like im tied in many ways. If i were to do it all again I'd do a phd straight after college and then get industry experience before looking at academia. A colleague went looking to move for geographical/family reasons last yead. The only positions open were looking for someone with a PhD or in the process of. The salary involved a significant pay cut and increase in duties and a temporary contract. It just isn't worth it in some cases.

Regarding the "you need to be willing to move across the country/world for postdoc positions" - this is very dependent on your field.

There are plenty of niches where only a handful of universities do research in a certain area, so it's much more common to remain in one place geographically for a lot longer.