Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school

Based on personal observation as a long-time CS grad student, I take issue with #1 and #2.

Grad school only delays adulthood if you let it, and I know plenty of people who matured well during grad school as well as plenty who did not while working "real" jobs. You can also argue about whether delaying adulthood is actually "pointless" :)

There are many reasons to get a PhD in CS if you are not going to teach - industry research is active in many sub-fields, and those jobs often require a PhD - and if not, it certainly helps.

Finally, in my admittedly small sample, of people I know who graduated with a CS PhD, at least three received six-figure job offers from industry. I'm not sure what adjusting for IQ, education, and working hours looks like, but people don't make decisions adjusted for IQ - they are looking for absolute dollars, and a PhD can deliver.

Again, this is based on CS experience - I have heard less encouraging things for (e.g.) biology.

If you get a job during a nasty economic time, you'll probably end up saddled with a lower salary. This salary then becomes the foundation on which all future raises are calculated (e.g., a 5% raise).

If, however, you got a job during a robust economic time, you'll start with a higher salary and a higher foundation on which all future raises are calculated.

The difference between waiting a year for an extra bump in salary can pay off a lot because the difference will be compounded over the years. This creates an economically rational incentive to avoid the workforce by entering grad school for a little while (no PhD programs) or by finally giving the startup thing a try.

That's not why I went back to school. I went seeking a new challenge, and found that I could do (most of) it alongside a nice IT salary. I picked a major completely unrelated to IT. I studied abroad in Holland (and helped an NGO with their IT needs). I came back to the US, worked for another year in IT, and then opted to return to Amsterdam for an accelerated masters program.

I have no idea what is going to happen next. I may stay in Europe, I may move back. I may work in IT, but I may be doing it in a new context. Soon I will have two degrees, and tons of writing/planning/speaking/collaborating experience (both from my work experience and in an academic setting). Add to that a new language, global friend network, and the ability to easily live and work on two continents, and that's not too bad.

A cost/benefit analysis on grad school can never be representative, because the experiences, skills, and research can't be quantified. You might become interested in a new field, create an operating system (see Linus Torvalds' masters thesis), or meet your future wife.

So yes, I agree with some of the points in the article, but I disagree with the premise.

anyway, lots of free rides are available in interesting programs. go to grad school if you want to. it's a fun way to explore your interests for a couple years. write papers and travel the world on the school's dime. meet co-founders. work on self indulgent projects that could never exist in the real world.

i was half-baked after my undergrad... the extra time to bounce ideas off smart people in grad school was invaluable.