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Comment by agentcoops | Hacker News Reader

Yes, completely agreed with your corrections. Research is really the term I should have used and, as I clarified in a response above, it’s certainly true that, especially in STEM, there are at least industrial and academic tracks.

I would just clarify that my only intention was to address the particular case of someone currently working in tech who would like to additionally pursue non-STEM studies for their own sake. In that case, rare but that I wish were not so, the part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs of many European nations (Germany and the UK in particular) are, on average, a better fit.

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> part-time, dissertation-only PhD programs

It's just getting worse and worse. I believe you're trying to argue in good faith but maybe you should just stick to stuff you know about.

There is nothing about 'dissertation only' that makes these programs 'part time'. I'd argue that a good German or French university (I would guess the UK too, but I know less about that system) has more comprehensive and more stringent coursework to the MSc level than most US universities have for their PhD level. They don't do additional coursework because they're 'done'. Talk to those PhD students (and their advisors) about whether they consider that work 'part time'.

My last response to you as you’re obviously not arguing in good faith. The sentence that offended you is very simple. PhD programs in the UK are almost universally dissertation-only. While full-time you are expected to finish in three to four years, you can enroll part-time and finish in eight. The latter path is intended for those who are self-funded and typically already working full-time in whatever profession. An MA or MSc, with as or more stringent coursework than in the US, would be required in either case, but the MA can also be completed part-time. Look at the website of almost any English PhD program.

Again, my only argument is that the EU offers more options for advanced studies alongside another career than the US, which is something I have firsthand experience with.

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