blucat

Very nice response and a good reason to go. Other good reasons to go would be wanting to become a professor or a leader of a research team, or whatever else; I didn't mean to imply that the only worthy reason to go is loving research itself. I also didn't mean to imply that everyone applying to a PhD in computer science is fresh out of college. I just wanted to clarify because I reread my post and realized it sounds a bit like I'm accusing newly graduated college students of aimlessly swarming PhD programs for no reason. I'm really just curious what everybody's reasons are. What motivated my question are a couple of things. First, there is a very high output of students who apply to PhDs from my undergraduate college, so it makes me think that some people are applying because that's what their peers are doing. Honestly I'm guilty of this; being the first in my family to attend college I didn't ever think grad school was a possibility for someone like me until I saw everyone else was doing it. Second, I personally know of a couple of my classmates who are now in PhD programs and they don't know how they got there. They don't like their research topics and they feel they were 'pushed' into grad school by an unknown hand, and they are not happy. So I'm really wondering if this stuff ever crosses any of your minds, i.e., why am I really trying to do this?

Self-explanatory; why do you want a PhD? Most, if not all, interviewers ask this question and I'm wondering what kind of responses you guys give (and also what your real reasons are). Is it an actual burning passion for research? Do you just want to keep your student VISA? Are you afraid to enter into industry, maybe because of the economy or weak programming skills or insecurity, for example? Are you doing it because it seems like everyone else is? Do you feel you have to prove yourself, that PhDs are what smart people do or are you still under the yoke of feeling pressured to perform well in a school? Do you feel safest in the academic environment? Are you rich and you want to do it just because? Just curious what everybody's reasons are. I have a hard time believing that so many students fresh out of college would be going for PhDs purely because they are passionate about research in a certain field; this is a relatively new trend so there have got to be other reasons. We all know that a PhD in computer science isn't really necessary for most of us, and in most cases will box us in in terms of career choices in the future. So why are you doing it? For me, I'd say 70% of the reason is I actually want to do research; the rest is a combination between all of my friends are doing it and I'm afraid of the economy, which is irrational, since I'd probably make more in industry, period. Anybody else?