IsgettingaPhDworthit?1.IntroductionIsgettingaPhDworthit?Differentpeoplehavedifferentchoices.Theroadtoadoctorateislongandarduous.Althoughtherearemanytheobstacles,peoplearestillwillingtostayindoctorateprogramsbecausetheyenjoylearningforlearning'ssake.ButthejobprospectsforPhDstudentsisaveryseriousproblem.ManyPhDstudentshopetofindatenure-trackpositionatagoodcollegeorresearchuniversityaftergraduating,butinfact,itishardtocometrue.Inrecentyears,therearemorethanthreehundredthousanddoctoralstudentinChina.Becauseoftherisingemploymentpressure.However,mostofthemaster'sgraduatesdon'twanttoreaddoctor.Unfortunately,thereasonisthatitdoesn’thavefinanciallyrewarding.So,ConsideringaPhD?WecarryoutasurveyamongonehundredpostgraduatestudentsfromGuangdonguniversityoftechnologyinstituteofautomation.ThemainresearchquestionsincludewhyaPhDisworthitandwhydon’tyouchooseit.2.InvestigationdesignandpracticeplanIt’squiteimportantforustoknowthereasonwhyorwhynotchooseaPhD.ThesurveypopulationofinvestigationconcernsthepostgraduatestudentsofGuangdonguniversityoftechnologyinstituteofautomation.Thetypesofsurveyarethelongitudinalstudyandthecomparison.3.AnalysisofthefulldataAfteraddingupandsummarizingthedatawegotfromthequestionnaires,wefindacommonquestion.Theeconomicreasonhaveahugeinfluenceontheirfutureselection.Theresultshowsthat96%ofstudentschoosetogotowork.First,gettingadoctorateisintellectuallyrewarding.Unfortunately,itdoesn'ttendtobefinanciallyrewarding,atleastnotintheshortterm.Then,mostimportantly,thedoctoralresearchdifficultyisveryenormous.Ifthereisnoasuitablementorandproject,itwillmakeyouverypain.Only3%ofstudentsthinkthattheywillprobablycontinuetorise.TheyarguethataPhDisworthgetting.Tobeginwith,aPhDisanessentialpartoftheknowledgeeconomy.CompletingaPhDisallaboutcreatingfreshknowledge,discoveringnewthingsanddevelopingnewskills.Inaddition,theyaddsthatPhDcoursescanmakethemlearnmoreadvancedtheoryandtechnology,especially,transferableskillsandthemorerationalwayofthinking.4.ConclusionAccordingtothesurveyresultsandanalysis,thepostgraduatestendtochoosetostepintosocietyandgetasatisfactoryjobforthemaftergraduation.Tosumup,pursuingaPhDhavetwosides.Ontheonehand,nooneiswillingtospendmoretimetoearnlesssalary.Imaginewatchingyourfriendsdriveofftoworkintheirexpensivecarswhileyou'restillstuckinthelibraryorlab.Underthehugepressureanddifficultyinscientificresearch,alargenumberofpeoplehavetoflinch.Ontheotherhand,let'sacceptit,doingaPhDcanbeintellectuallychallenging,physicallytiringandemotionallydraining.Itmeansthatwecanseekgreaterdepthofknowledgeinaspecificarea,aPhDisaboutpursuingknowledge.Whatismoreimportant,itcanobtainthewayofthinking.APhDdegreehelpsyoudevelopvaluabletransferrableskills,whicharehelddearbytheemployers.AsfarasIcansee,wemustrespecteveryone’schoiceandpersevereinouridea.