[lotsofpulp]

Probability distributions are the difference.

There are people earning $200k, $500k, and $1M+ in many fields.

The probability of getting there (and quality of life while getting there and after you get there), are the important bits of information.

For example, if you have to grind out my whole 20s (some of the best years for the human body) doing dissertations and working 80+ hour weeks for near minimum wage (per hour worked), only for a 10% chance to make it to $200k per year or more, maybe it is not worth it.

Especially if other options exist that provide much higher probabilities of attaining an income you want with similar levels of dedication.

[chriskanan]

Unfortunately, in the USA that's true across PhDs and MDs. It requires about 10-15 years post high school to make more than a living wage.

At least for everyone I know, they all ended up with comfortable salaries after finishing their PhDs. Most people spend our best years spending the majority of our time working, and at least for me, scientific research makes it not feel like work. Not everything is about money and a professor can live well in many places on a $90K salary, speaking from past experience.

The biggest cost is probably the impact it has on trying to have a family since one doesn't typically have much salary or time until around age 35 with the typical trajectory.

[lotsofpulp]

While the ROI on MD has gone down quite a bit, it is not as volatile as PhD. The floor for MDs is quite a bit higher, and the path to high income is well defined (less random to achieve it if you go through the steps).

https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2022-compensation-overvie...

[rdtwo]

Yeah that can be an issue since you basically only have 2-3 years left to have kids if you want them and are a woman.

Also 90k ain’t what it used to be. It’s probably equivalent to 60k 3-4 years ago.

[JamesianP]

grad school wasn't a grind in my experience. Definitely easier and more fun than a real job, apart from the sparse high-stress deadlines of course. I think that's generally the norm in the US (except in chemistry I hear?)