What to expect from a PhD? Also, what salary do you, as

>>9055956
>What to expect from a PhD?
Hard work
>Also, what salary do you, as a PhD student, get?
Some schools give you a generous stipend. My stipend is 34k a year plus tuition fees. Some schools give you nothing.

>>9055967
>34k a year

Could you illustrate how living is with this amount of money? Do you ever lack something or do you think this is enough to live without worries?

>>9055967
>34k
mine is 22k :(
but very low cost of living, end up with 10k after taxes/housing/bills, not terrible

>>9055956
>What to expect from a PhD?
Easy life
>Also, what salary do you, as a PhD student, get?
300k starting

>>9055971
>22k

I want to ask you same question as >>9055970

>>9055967
>34k
I will start a PhD soon and get 21.6k. I think my parents will add some extra, but that sucks.

Can you tell me which uni you are at?
I am KULeuven.

>>9055970
You aren't rich if that's your question, but you'd survive.

>>9055974
I go to MIT

>>9055970
I am the 21.6k guy.

So far I have been living on 600€ a month for consumables, with my stay being paid for by my parents.

I can't afford anything. Only buy food and once a while some clothes.

I only buy cheap stuff, and use a bike.

Never go on vacation or travel at all.

Never go to a restaurant.

Life sucks.

And all that for being a magna cum laude student.

>>9055976
>if that's your question

No, that is not my question. My question is it enough. My question is if that ever runs out and you have to like cut how much you eat until your next paycheck and perhaps wear the same clothes for a couple of days to not waste money cleaning it. Or is it enough for you to not worry.

> you'd survive.
I am also not really saying if you "survive". You could technically survive by cutting how much you eat and by wearing the same clothes for a couple of days.

I mean something that is between surviving and being rich. I guess the best way my 21st century can describe this level of financial stability is:

Are you chill? Or do you have moments of no-chill?

>>9055979
I have to eat rice for a week straight at times

>>9055977
>Only buy food and once a while some clothes.

Okay food is necessary. Having more clothes is not necessary. If you do not grow then you can live with 5 shirts and 5 jeans.

>I only buy cheap stuff, and use a bike.

Cheap stuff is alright, I think I could survive with that. But what is with the bike? Don't you live at your university?

>Never go on vacation or travel at all.
Work is the vacation so I wouldn't have a problem with this.

>Never go to a restaurant.
I never go to restaurants so I could live with this.

My question is, does your university provide free coffee? Actually, this is a question for everyone. Do universities in Europe/US usually provide free coffee? The only thing I see myself wasting unnecesary money in is coffee so if that gets funded I would be fine.

>>9055983
>I have to eat rice for a week straight at times

Fuck that man that is tough. But I think I could do this, just replace the rice with instant ramen. Why don't you do that too? Instant ramen is chill.

>>9055985
>Having more clothes is not necessary.
If you have to go to an important meeting you can't wear the same t-shirts and jeans you wore 6 years ago in highschool.

I have bought perhaps 10 shirts in 6 years.

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>>9055970
>>9055971
17k

>>9055995
>I have bought perhaps 10 shirts in 6 years.

That is wasteful. I am not currently a PhD student but let me tell you what I do. It is hard for me to go outside, so I go to my dad's closet and I take all the shirts of him I can find that I think look okay. I then tell him "these are now mine" and then leave.

Do you have opportunities to visit your parents? This could save a lot of money.

>>9055989
instant ramen is like 90% of what I eat

>>9055971
>10k after taxes
wait, I thought we were talking netto...

I will get 22k netto.

>>9055999
I live in a different country altogether.
Moved out and went abroad when I was 18

>>9056001
>instant ramen is like 90% of what I eat

Okay, that is good in terms of taste so I suppose you are doing great in that department. But what about health. Do you feel healthy?

Man you guys are acting like 20k plus is hard.
I made 9,000usd in 2015
about 500 a month for rent and utilities left me with 3,000 that year. So 250 a month, minus 50 for my phone, so 200 a month. I work in food though lol so I got a lot of free food. Spent like the whole 200 on weed and cigarettes. That's just an average, I still would go weeks at a time with nothing.

Obviously that's not something you can do every year of your life and be anywhere near happy but yeah..... if I made 30k a year just to go to school, holy fuck would I be happy

>>9056011
About as healthy as a nerd can get.

Protip:

Buy mama tom-yum flavor
https://www.amazon.com/Mama-Tom-Yum-Flavour-Noodles/dp/B000QFOXTS

Add an egg to the noodles and cook them in a microwave for 3 minutes, then rinse the water off and add the powders.

Next, add 1 spoon of tiparos fish sauce
http://www.thaimartaustralia.com.au/product.php?id_product=48

Add some coriander, one chilli pepper, and, optionally, some boiled ground beef.

It tastes fucking awesome, like some restaurant shit, and costs next to nothing.


1 mama = 50cent
1 egg = 25 cent
1 chilli pepper = 10 cent (or less)
some coriander = 5 cent
1 spoon of fish sauce = 5 cent
you can get a protein rich, carbohydrate rich, mineral rich tasty dish for just 1$ and it takes just 5 min to prepare

>>9056017
>Spent like the whole 200 on weed and cigarettes.
"I am a moron: the post"

>>9055973
Ill let you know in half a year, i start fall.

>>9056044
same here

getting pretty excited desu.

what you studying?

biochemistry here

>>9056039
would've just blown it on stupid shit like clothes or healthcare otherwise if you have that little money you might as well buy something that'll keep your physical self content while you browse 4chan

>>9056045
excited to live like a slave

>>9056053
yeah... no
rather about all the other stuff

>>9056050
yeah, healthcare is totally stupid shit.

no way you are a PhD.

>>9056056
Why would I spend 200 on 'healthcare' when the deductible is far too much for me to afford? Now who's retarded? Still though how the hell could you not get by on 30k. Were you just tossing wads of cash out the window or what?

>>9056045
BC as well. Biochemistr/biophysics specifically. Im extremely excited and have been ready to start since june or so haha. have any labs you're interested in checking out?

My stipend is $31,000 a year, which is alright for the research triangle area.

>>9055956
Question for PhD guys.
Did you stipend go up from TA to RA?
can you negotiate your stipend?

>>9056086
what do you mean labs I want to check out?

>>9056094
During my admit meet we toured around and they asked us if we had any PIs we were interested in talking to/asking about their labs. Example, a lab whose PI i interviewed were making a GFP sensor for dengue. another was all about advanced imaging techniques, especially fluorsescent microscopy

>>9056098
I am going to work in a lab where I did my masters thesis.

So I already know everyone there, been working there a year already basically.

>>9056101
oh ok, im going in fresh from undergrad

>>9056105
good luck.

hookup or get friends with a lab technician. they will become your lifeline

>>9055956
I work 40 hrs a week at 9 an hour and I almost have too much money kek. I pay 400 a month in rent and walk, eating lots of rice and chicken. im pretty comfy desu. doubling my salary would be fucking amazing. throw a working gf in there and Id be living the dream.

is it going to be difficult getting into a good PhD program from a shit undergrad? I go to CUNY Hunter right now, have a 3.5 gpa after first year (will improve- foreign language dropped my average significantly) and i'm looking at graduating with an accelerated masters in physics and a bachelor in math. 3.7 gpa in physics (11 credits) right now and 4.0 in math (12 credits- calc 1 through 3)

is this life worth it?

>>9056138
Your grades are fine. Anything above a 3.5 is fine. What's important is your research experience.

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>all these posts saying they get sub 30k for what effectively amounts to a research + teaching position.

As someone who use to do substitute teaching work for a few k-12 schools that sounds criminal. I made roughly the same amount with only an undergrad and not at full time schedule.

I currently work a 80k engineering job with said undergrad.

Do you guys get any decent benefits for doing your PhD at these schools besides the stipend? I know pursuit of a PhD is not meant to be about economical gains but it shouldn't mean falling into the same tax bracket as the working poor. No one pursuing academia for +5 years should be screwed around like that.

For context I plan on putting in for a master's some time next year in data visualization and was interested in the possibility of immediately following it up with a PhD, maybe research related to visualization of topological photonics if applicable.

Should I try to save more money than I'm already doing now in preparation for a possible PhD? Or should I not bother with a PhD and just try to work said research in my masters instead?

>What to expect from a PhD?
It's a journey. Less generously, it's a long road. First two years go by: you start with core courses and rotations first year, then electives and qualifying exams second year. Then it's the day-in, day-out grind as a candidate, putting in the work to start getting publications and start building your thesis. That's where I am, about a year-plus out of candidacy. Gotta love it, I do.
>Also, what salary do you, as a PhD student, get?
~$29k/yr, at a Big State U. in the Upper Midwestern U.S. As a single guy, I have a pretty nice life; I think I would speak for most of my cohort when I say that. (I think the key here is that I and the vast majority of my cohort have no plans on being in any sort of committed relationship and/or having children for the next few years.) On that stipend, you can afford a pretty decent apartment and you won't be eating top ramen or cold cuts for every meal. Not only that, you can afford the occasional "luxury" of a nice meal or concert or sporting event, and many students can pursue hobbies that cost a few dollars.

Expect to be stressed and busy the entire time and value all the time you arent. Expect to also live frugally if you want to take travel/vacation time off.

Low end at my uni (Switzerland) is $50k, high end is $80k. The cost of living is a lot higher so maybe it evens out with US unis. Also it is more like a job here rather than student like. A masters degree is required to apply, but the phd is 3-5 years because there is no coursework during it, only research.

what are my chances of getting into a, say, top 20 PhD program coming from a average/below average uni with average grades on my BSc?
Going for a masters this year and my results should be better, since I didn't do shit my first two years in undergrad and the last one I did and ended up really good.

>about to start 4th year of Engineering undergrad
>really hate engineering, want to study physics instead
>every grad program I see for physics says they want B.Sc kids

pls help sci. is there any way I can get a masters in Physics from Engineering? Or do I have to redo my bachelors?

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>All these people getting ton of money for their Ph.D.
>I got a little less than 16k (converted to USD)
>I live in the 4th most expensive city in the world (according to bloomberg for what it worth)
>I thought I was getting plenty of money for a student lifestyle
Really activates my almonds

will it matter when im applying to phd programs that I'm getting a BA rather than a B.Sc? still in physics

>>9057229
libing in tokyo must be nice.

do you go cuddle with catgirls a lot?

I know I would

>>9057158
Either contact their advisors and see if they really care about being a BSc, or just apply and make it very known that you don't give a shit about engineering and like physics.

>>9057290
that sounds expensive

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>>9055956
I expected that if I had a big discovery in my research people would be happy for me and I would be able to support myself at level above a sleeping bag on the sidewalk and public toilets. Note well, I was mistaken.

>>9057232

Undergrads at Princeton can only get a B.A in math. It does not matter.

>>9057322
who cares if it costs you an arm and a leg.

catgirls!

At schools like ETH Zurich you can make as nuch as 50-60k a year, but hell do you need to be good to get in.

Starting my first year as a PhD student in a couple months. Will I have time to hang on to a work-from-home part time programming job? It doesn't have a minimum commitment or anything. I'm just worried my stipend (20k) won't be enough between rent, student loan repayments, and car payments.

>>9057290
Yeah, Tokyo is nice but the daily life is quite expensive. Only restaurant are cheap compared with other large cities in the world, and the train fees also are reasonable with respect to the size of the city and the density of the network (Buses are almost luxury though)

I'm not into paying random sluts to hug (or more) but if that's your thing then there's a possibly for you to make your dreams come true.
If you just want cat girls, then there must be some "underground" "maid cafe" in akihabara for you.
If you want to fuck "prostitutes" then there are soap lands. Officially you get massages and stuff but a lot of girls that work in soaplands also are porn actresses so use your deduction skills.
Then you have the night clubs at Roppongi where there are black dudes calling you "hey my brother! You like Japanese women? Come in, these sluts give the best blowjob ever!". Needless to say, don't go in. These scams run by yakuza are known to offer you drinks at reasonable price, then charge you hundreds of USD for "sitting fee", or the girl drink over expensive cocktails and then you have to pay for her.

Anyway, Tokyo is a nice city and I enjoy living there. But I am surprised how much scholarship the other anons are receiving for their Ph.D. whereas I get half of theirs and still manage to live well with student standards in an expensive corner of the world.

>>9055970
Fuck that. I mean cudos to PhD students but god damn I'm glad I landed a decent job with my Batchelors.

I love my field but I cannot deal with academia.

>>9055985
Not him but my university has a Starbucks on every corner. You don't get a discount though. The only free coffee you'd get is in the break room that's in your building if you have a decent cowokers.

>>9056017
You have to take into account some of these guys are paying off loans and probably haven not lived on their own for long.

>>9055970

34k just for living allowance is comfortable.
Never have to eat instant noodles.

>>9056033
Or just learn how to cook.

Seriously if you can make a ramen cup you could cook rice and beans. Hell buy some flower and a few eggs and bam you can make yourself a shitton of ramen. Seriously you can eat cheap without eatting crap.

PhD student, first year. My stipend is 13.2k.

PhD stipends tend to be a lot lower in my field (ecology) than others.

Almost everyone that I know with phds (spread across a bunch of very different fields) lives ok, not good, not terribly, unless they have a side hustle. Sometimes it's part time consulting in their specialty, other times it's doing something like real estate, but the ones who are doing very well do not just have their one job.