[lazyjeff]

I had the same experience as the grandparent, and averaged 70K a year. I had a lot of great opportunities during my Ph.D so I was really fortunate, but I felt that many students I met during internships were serial interns and got fellowships too, so it seemed at the time like most strong PhD students in Computer Science averaged about 60K a year and enjoyed it. Also note that you don't pay FICA (Social Security / Medicare) on your PhD stipend so 25K is like 30K.

I graduated in 5 years into my dream tenure-track job, and 7/8 of the students in my cohort got good tenure-track jobs too (the remaining one went back to running a successful business unrelated to her research). The school I'm at pays $40K/year stipends for PhD students, including the summer; so I think many people only count the 9-month stipend for PhD students which is about 27K, and not the summer salary.