I asked 40 Amazon Robotics employees why they did not study for a PhD

This week I'll share the results of the survey "why not study for a PhD?"

Industry - Why not study for a PhD

Following last time we discussed about “Why study PhD,” today we check out the other side of the story. I took a bold step and posted on the office Slack channel (which was pretty scary, to be honest). Luckily, I received 40 responses and a lot of encouragement for me doing the study. Again, this survey targets a narrow group, i.e., people from amazon robotics (AR).

Demographics

Here is the demographics of the responses. This ratio roughly resembles the Demographics of AR.

The main reason for not studying for a PhD

Impression about PhD

First a asked the question in a neutral tone.

It is clear that majority of the respondents think that PhD studies takes a long time. I added a question, “How long do you think it will take?” and the response was pretty accurate, i.e., around 5 years.

I do want to justify that the respondents do see some value in doing a PhD. Here is the result for the question “What could have been your reason to consider studying a PhD?”

We see that most people are interested in research and learning more. Compared to answers from PhDs, you see a significant number difference in “I think it will give me more autonomy at work”. 25 out of 40 respondents from the PhD group believes so, while only 8 out of 40 from the non-PhD group agrees. This result aligns with an article I previously wrote, titled “PhD degree vs autonomy at work.” The highlight statement is “Experienced people in industry earned their autonomy at work not because they have certain degrees, but because they demonstrated their ability to utilize the autonomy entrusted to them. Therefore, getting a PhD is not the only way to gain autonomy at work.”

Summary of reasons and quotes

I realized that sometimes people may not have a long list of reason to say yes, but often have a longer list to say no. Therefore, I asked respondents to answer this question in their own words. Here I summarize their answers:

• The cost of a PhD is too high: Many people have mentioned that the time and effort commitments are too significant. Some also noted the need to start working in the industry to support their family's financial needs.

• Industry is fun and helps them grow: Many people mentioned that they enjoyed solving “real-world” problems and are able to continue developing themselves in their workplace.

• Many wanted to leave academia, citing a lack of perceived need to continue learning at school. Some people attempted to apply for PhD but did not receive an offer that was a good fit. Few others had uncomfortable experiences working in a research lab, and they decided to leave academia.

Hare some quotes:

• “It is cost-prohibitive. i am a caretaker and the sole financial provider for my parents and my young family. i do not have the luxury of time or flexibility.”

• “ many reasons:

  • 1) exciting problems I get to examine at AR,

  • 2) I still get the opportunity to do some research at AR,

  • 3) higher financial compensation,

  • 4) more team collaboration in industry (this may not be generally true, but it’s just what I observed),

  • 5) getting to look at a more diverse set of problems in industry, not just one area of focus”

• “My internship experiences revealed that practical, field-based learning was significantly more valuable to my development than traditional academic study.”

Impact on current career

I then asked people about their experience at work. I asked: Do you think having a PhD will help you with doing your current work? Here is the result:

Among the people who said yes, many thought that having a PhD would help them gain deeper knowledge about the subject and enable them to conduct research.

I asked: Do you think having a PhD will help you with career advancement? Here is the result:

Interestingly, some respondents mentioned they observed that PhD are “respected”, “seen as inherent leaders” and the degree is “a constant enhancement to your resume.”

I asked: Do you think having a PhD will help you get opportunities to work on things that you otherwise wouldn't have a chance to try? Here is the result:

Many respondents indicated that they are interested in conducting research.

Finally, looking back from now, do you think you will want to get a PhD?

I think it is worth noting that even though many agree that having a PhD can bring unique opportunities, most of our respondents are presumably happy with what they have experienced without a PhD degree. To me, both this survey and the previous one show that, generally speaking, whether you have a PhD degree or not, there are ways to find a fulfilling career (in AR :))!

P.S. There are a few more interesting comparisons that I want to make between the two surveys. Stay tuned!