I was that other student - the one who was being berated. My PI acted terribly towards his subordinates just because he had it badly during his years as a student. That is not an excuse to act this way to another human being IMO.

I went to a U.S. PhD program during the '08 recreation out of necessity. It was a terrible experience and ultimately I ended up quitting. I've never quit anything before in my life so this was an especially jarring experience.

I left, got a job in tech (my original true passion if I'm honest), and never looked back. I learned a few things from that experience.

I learned that if you don't know what you want to do, then just try a lot of different things so you can compare. I learned that you shouldn't do something solely because of external expectations. I learned how important it is to treat people like humans no matter what their job is. I also learned how warm, interesting, and inviting the tech community is.

I'm appreciative every day for that last one as that's why I'm here with you right now.