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by fnayr 4766 days ago
Yep, out of my class of 7 in my PhD program, two were forced out. They did/will get a masters, but that's not the same.
2 comments

I dropped out of my CS PhD after two years. I regret not doing a startup instead.

I was working for a big tech firm in Silicon Valley in late 2000. I was looking for a career change so I applied to a few startups including Google. The Google recruiter called me repeatedly to come in for an interview, but I decided to quit the job search and pursue a PhD instead.

Studying for a PhD was fun, but I couldn't adjust to the lower income. I'd been working in industry for the previous five years so it was a 80% drop in income at least. Plus I got married and had a kid in those two years. That complicated things considerably.

>Studying for a PhD was fun, but I couldn't adjust to the lower income. I'd been working in industry for the previous five years so it was a 80% drop in income at least. Plus I got married and had a kid in those two years. That complicated things considerably.

I believe the author is suggesting that the person starts their own startup, not going to work for one. I would suggest in that case theere would be a considerable drop in income also.

What does "forced out" mean?
When I was a grad student there were a few people who couldn't pass the PhD qualifying exams. They basically were allowed to complete enough work for a masters degree, but not allowed to continue for a PhD. This is being forced out.