About to start a PhD but idk if I'm about that lifestyle. I like learning and researching but some of the people in my dept seem to have a monomania about the whole thing. Something about it just makes me feel like a don't belong in a way I can't articulate (Not in an impostor syndrome way).
i bailed on my stem phd for a masters and a job making 200k a year
Still in one. If you know you have the energy and interest in a specific topic, and will probably stay in academia or in industry research, then go for it. I sort of regret starting mine because COVID happened and the field sped past me
I've really considered quitting my software job and going back to academia.
I just finished mine. Can understand what you mean about monomania, it was never something I absolutely wanted to do, v glad I finished tho. Did you start yet?
>>714 I've started and taken one midterm so far. My initial reaction was: holy shit this is so much harder than undergrad. It probably doesn't help going from a random liberal arts school to a more academic oriented school. So far my strategy has been to get good grades on the homework by any means necessary (but making sure I at least understand everything I turn in). I do have some assurance in that some of my classmates struggle about as much as me. But it is very intimidating knowing that I am just at the beginning, especially when talking with some of the older guys in my program. My actual research is supposed to start in a couple of days, and my project seems interesting enough. Not really sure where I'll end up but so far I'm ok
Mechanical/aerospace engineering. Thanks, my feelings about it can vary pretty wildly depending on the day lol