| > Why do they have so many more PhDs now? Because these jobs are researcher jobs, and research is a distinct skill-set than what is learned in the typical undergrad and masters program. Could we train researchers in another, more efficient way? Maybe, but PhD program are the current means of training specialized researchers. > plus extra student loan debt For researcher jobs, this will almost never be true. The vast majority of STEM PhD students are fully-funded and given a stipend (although usually small). The dynamics of course change if the student has to support other dependents. > Even with a higher salary (and higher tax burden), it's not clear that you come out on top during your lifetime For fields like Computer Science, there are many viable and high-salaried career for non-PhDs, so a PhD will likely lose lifetime money. For other fields like biomedical research, then they will probably profit over a full career. But really, people don't do PhDs for the money, people like their fields, they like the university environment, they like being around other researchers, or they like the independence—all of these things can be valuable beyond lifetime salary. |