The Ph.D. Pay Gap

[GeoDUDE!]

Its important to note that just because someone is funded by their PI doesn't mean funding isn't guaranteed for the duration of their PhD. I am funded by my PI (and some external fellowships) but if those dried up I have a guaranteed TA spot: the department is obligated to fund me for 5 years with or without PI support. I assume this is the same for most STEM students. 

[ashiepoo72]

My friend told me he's not guaranteed funding for 5 years, but it's "pretty much guaranteed" via TAships. I don't like the "pretty much" part haha

[TakeruK]

In the STEM fields, when we are funded "year to year" by our PI, it basically means that the two options each year: either we get continued funding and support or we fail. I have not yet heard of any STEM program that has "funding conditional on satisfactory progress" and that will say "You are good enough to stay but not enough to get paid". Unsatisfactory progress means failing out of the program.

[GeoDUDE!]

In the STEM fields, when we are funded "year to year" by our PI, it basically means that the two options each year: either we get continued funding and support or we fail. I have not yet heard of any STEM program that has "funding conditional on satisfactory progress" and that will say "You are good enough to stay but not enough to get paid". Unsatisfactory progress means failing out of the program.

 

 

To add (and agree) what TakeruK says, most of the top departments in my field don't even allow students to pay their own way: If they are a student in department they are funded. 

[Vene]

That's pretty close to how my program works. The only way to stay in the program is to be funded. If my PI can't find the funds, then the department finds me a class to TA (guaranteed to me as long as I'm in good standing). Not that I'd be willing to pay for it if I wasn't funded.

[eeee1923]

It's been very interesting to see how this thread's topic of conversation has evolved over time  . 

[Pitangus]

PhD students are accepted into my program with 5 years of guaranteed departmental support as well. I think the only students who receive semester-by-semester funding are the coursework-based MS students. 

[Crucial BBQ]

Personally, I always start the conversation about finances with new graduate students. 

 

I know a lot of them are too nervous to ask about it, so we talk about what the stipends are, and how able people are to able to live on it in the area. I feel like it's a very important consideration. 

And some just may not think to ask.  I have talked with current students about all sorts topics yet it never occurred to me to ask about stipends, finances, and so on.  

[isilya]

Maelia, if you're at UCBerk, the numbers I've seen for the general stipend are almost offensively low, particularly considering the quality of the history department and the cost of living in the Bay Area. I assume this is the result of a public/private split.

 

Yeah, I think this is a public/private problem as well. I got four offers this year, two from public schools (one being Berkeley) and two from private schools. My offers from public schools were 9-month stipends of $22K and $25K in expensive areas with no summer funding and no health insurance. My offers from the private schools were 12-months stipends of $27K (in a cheap area) and $37K, with health insurance paid for and also access to a good amount of travel funds. The difference is mind-blowing!

[Eigen]

My university doesn't have just "funded/fail" options in the sciences. 

 

Basically, if you're funded by the PI as an RA, there's also the option to get "demoted" back to TAing if you're not making sufficient research progress/funds aren't available. 

 

There's also a slow lowering of funding for people who've been around too long as an encouragement to leave- half funding for a semester, say, when the person should just be writing up and not be in the lab finishing.

 

But generally, yes- if the department/PI aren't willing to fund you, you're on your way out rather than staying around on your own dime.

[TakeruK]

My university doesn't have just "funded/fail" options in the sciences. 

 

Basically, if you're funded by the PI as an RA, there's also the option to get "demoted" back to TAing if you're not making sufficient research progress/funds aren't available. 

 

There's also a slow lowering of funding for people who've been around too long as an encouragement to leave- half funding for a semester, say, when the person should just be writing up and not be in the lab finishing.

 

But generally, yes- if the department/PI aren't willing to fund you, you're on your way out rather than staying around on your own dime.

 

To be clear, yes, I did not mean It's "RA funded or fail out", but I'd consider TA funded to still be funded. Usually I see things like "half funding" when a person is already past the end of guaranteed funding. In one case, a student was only half funded because the only reason they were still a student (7th year) was to finish a class that they needed to retake 2 times. This student was working on their thesis work half time, and taking that last course / teaching at a community college in their other half-time.

[Crucial BBQ]

I have been considering this thread since the OP was first published.  I have thought about this topic in many ways and I keep coming back to one thing:  while stipends vary by department, program, and school, and benefit packages may vary as well, even the lowest "paid" stipend to me still seems to be more money than what an adjunct/part time prof earns and part-timers do not have the luxury of benefit packages--and these people typically already have a Ph.D. (and perhaps post-docs, too). 

 

Ph.D programs are further education, training, and credentialing that lead to better paying jobs and careers (hopefully, to both) and in my opinion the future benefits of the degree should be considered into the equation.  

 

And of course, there is more to the story here than I am familiar with.  

[ExponentialDecay]

Damn, it's a necromancy party up in here tonight.