[cletus]

To be fair, deciding to get a STEM PhD isn’t a financial decision at all. At best of the distance between getting a job in that field vs not but you should be cognizant off there being other alternatives.

But if your goal Of to be an academic or researcher (in higher education or industry) the name of the school on your diploma masters. A mediocre Harvard PhD graduate will probably still have Job for life somewhere (depending in the field).

But choosing to get a no name PhD is certainly not a decision optimized for earning potential or job opportunities.