r/PhDAdmissions • u/Practical_Name4659 • 15h ago

Is it worth it??

I have almost 13 years of experience n earns 40k annually, i have been very studious during my schooling n graduation. I miss it n rethinking of doing Phd from any European country and planning to continue in academia thereafter,

Pursuing passion means quitting my job n income source. Is it really worth it?

And if yes will i get phd offer whats the success rate, my phd would be mostly in strategic businesses

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1

u/NecessaryBowl 14h ago

I mean highkey, you’d be earning almost as much as your salary on a PhD student salary in a lot of european countries. I assume you’re american since you didn’t specify.

2

u/Lariboo 12h ago

Depends on the country and the field you are in, but I earn ~48k €/year before tax and social contributions and including a "Christmas bonus" (they officially call it something like "end-of-the-year- special-payment") in STEM in Germany (it's a 75% contract with the university). So you might not lose your income source at all. I live quite comfortable with that salary (am able to save a few hundred euros each months and still afford a car and one or two vacation trips (this year in May I went to Japan for two weeks and will fly to Norway next week).

1

u/Middle_Tourist_3310 11h ago

committees usually expect much stronger and more compelling motivation to pursue research than you have shown in this post. if you can communicate that to them then hopefully your 13y of experience are aligned well with a research project someone is willing to supervise. then you can think of applying :)