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by betawolf33 4759 days ago
I'm not convinced that a salaried PhD would be an advantage. Is there not something rather bizarre about the government taxing the money it's giving to you to support your studies?

I'm not sure how it works in the Netherlands, but in the UK you can claim unemployment benefits without having to have been paying taxes (so far as I'm aware). Surely people applying to PhD positions aren't so incapable of managing their finances that they require payment monthly rather than quarterly? That's the only difference I can see between a grant system and a salaried one.
3 comments
mayank 4759 days ago
> Is there not something rather bizarre about the government taxing the money it's giving to you to support your studies?

My PhD in the US was funded by NSF dollars, ie public money. I went to a state school. My stipend was taxed like regular income. On top of that, I paid Medicare and Social Security taxes (publicly funded government programs), which as a non-US citizen, I cannot use anyway. When you're making less than $20k a year in downtown Chicago, all this hurts quite a bit.

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Ihmahr 4759 days ago
"Is there not something rather bizarre about the government taxing the money it's giving to you to support your studies?" Not at all. Its just like mp's, staff and everyone else employed by the government.

"I'm not sure how it works in the Netherlands, but in the UK you can claim unemployment benefits without having to have been paying taxes (so far as I'm aware)." No, in the UK and the Netherlands they won't hand out money to unemployed foreigners who choose to come and live there.

"That's the only difference I can see between a grant system and a salaried one." You can still get a grant. Lucky you!!

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throwaway_phd 4759 days ago
> I'm not convinced that a salaried PhD would be an advantage

As someone who is just about to complete a PhD at Delft, I agree. If you are paid a salary, you are treated as an employee. In my opinion, this is not a good fit for the PhD process. That said, it was nice not having to scrape by.

> Is there not something rather bizarre about the government taxing the money it's giving to you to support your studies?

At least at Delft, many PhD's are partially funded by private corporations.

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