> Rushing a BS makes complete sense to me. A Ph.D? Not so much.
Hmm, opposite feelings. I needed time in the bachelor to figure out what I wanted. For many scientific professionals, they might be publishing papers and could potentially even write a thesis on the side. This would enable them to get the degree and teach, should they want to.
Figuring out what one wants makes a lot of sense, but I haven't seen an undergrad college education as a good context to do that. Most kids I know who did that came out with a squishy education, without real depth or substance. At the same time, an undergrad class looks nothing like real life.
Working in different contexts -- jobs, internships, volunteering, etc. -- has tended to work a lot better for that -- especially when the job is structured as a learning experience and not a profit-maximizing one. For me, travel was magical for figuring out who I wanted to be, but I wasn't doing tourism.
You have a lot more freedom to explore as a Ph.D than an undergrad too:
- No timeline
- You're not paying $40k per year, but getting a stipend
Hmm, opposite feelings. I needed time in the bachelor to figure out what I wanted. For many scientific professionals, they might be publishing papers and could potentially even write a thesis on the side. This would enable them to get the degree and teach, should they want to.