If you get a PhD, make it an economics PhD

I think the author forgot to mention you must love economics. People get their PhD in the field they love, they don't do it for money or job prospects.

I am one of the dreaded lab PhDs and simply love my life because I love biology. I also have jobs lined up when I graduate because I did well. I did well because I loved my work which enabled me do a lot of work.

The thought of myself getting an economics PhD seems horrifying because I have no interest in it. But hey, if you love economics...

>Compare this to a lab science PhD, in which you basically do the project your advisor tells you to do, and you succeed or fail in part based on whether your advisor chooses a project that works out

This is a complete crock of shit.

A situation like this only happens if you let it happen. If you are active as a grad student in directing your training then you'll have all the freedom you could ask for.

Of the billionaires on Forbes top 100, only 1 has a Ph.D. By contrast, a couple are high school drop-outs and a fair number are college drop-outs. Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100505134335AA...

Tuition is rising faster than inflation. After 4 years of college, 5 years of grad school, and another 5 years of post-doc work, a Ph.D. could easily accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars of student debt.

So if making money is your main goal in life, skip the Ph.D.