Is it really true that MDs are more difficult to earn than Ph.Ds?

[tuckman]

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I noticed this question appearing amongst a thread in the Allopathic forum and thought it would be an interesting post-finals topic to discuss. It appears that the biggest hurdle for MDs is the initial acceptance to medical school. While it may be difficult to pass courses in medical school, graduate students are forced to continuously prove themselves even after acceptance. This is true even after graduating with a Ph.D degree. In order to survive academia, you must be willing to suffer quite a few set-backs. You must struggle through the criticisms of your major advisor, have your research constantly questioned by peers, and work 60- 80 hours a week on top of accomplishing your school work. You are essentially a slave to the faculty member you are working for. This is especially true for science-related graduate programs. You must write a very well-developed thesis and present it to faculty and peers. After hours of brutal questioning, you may or may not pass. Following graduation, you again work under somebody else as a post-doc (in many situations). You are then forced to find work within the very confined walls of academia where you will face a long road to tenure, which is interrupted several times by meetings challenging your worthiness. (For people who do not know, professors face regular meetings at which they must prove themselves and their value to the university or risk being dismissed). While MDs must pass exams and prove themselves throughout their clinicals, is their road really as intellectually demanding? I would like to believe so as I honestly believe that many of the world's brightest minds dedicate their lives to the area of medicine. However, everything is up to interpretation. What do others think? Do Ph.Ds really take the more difficult road? Is it truly the most difficult degree to obtain?

 

[QuantumMechanic]

this has been discussed ad nauseum...

the attrition rate of PhD programs compared to MD programs speaks for the relative "easiness" of the programs and also to the fact that the MD degree presents a "light at the end of the tunnel" where you know pretty well how many years you have left and what you need to do (pass courses, usmle, match, dont **** up in residency, specialty boards) to make sure you get to the final goal.

 

[Eric Lindros]

You can't compare the two.

 

[QofQuimica]

You can't compare the two.

I agree. Both degrees are difficult, but for different reasons. I think that grad school was actually intellectually more challenging than medical school has been, at least so far. So in that sense, getting my PhD was harder. But medical school requires a lot more juggling and multitasking. I mean, when I was in grad school, I had time to sit around for hours and just think up all of these grandiose plans for experiments, read literature, sit around and discuss ideas with other people, that kind of thing. Nowadays, I'm running and doing all day, and the only time I stop is when my head hits the pillow. So medical school is also hard, but it's more a factor of the tremendous volume of s*** that is constantly being thrown at you, and the need to continuously be thinking on your feet. What I can tell you is that neither path is for the faint of heart, and both require better than average intelligence. So don't worry, OP, you won't be surrounded by a bunch of dull minds in med school. 😉

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

As someone who was going to start a Ph.D. program but then decided to apply to medical school... here's how I see it.

A Ph.D. program is what you make of it. If you find the right research project, you can go through with something rather straightforward, make a small contribution hanging onto the coattails of a past experiment and get the Ph.D.
However, if you want to make a significant scientific contribution, you're going to live in the lab and wake up with agarose gel in your hair in the morning (i'm still trying to figure that one out.....) You can be working 20 hours a day. But you'll never have Q3 call......

Ph.D. programs are easier to get into. If you aced your sciences and did the requisite undergrad research, you can get into a Ph.D. program. It may not be at Harvard or Cold Spring Harbor, but it was easier for me to get accepted to Ph.D. programs than Med schools, personally. and i have a 3.9 science gpa and lots of healthcare related volunteer stuff.

It just depends on what you want to kill yourself doing. lab work or studying anatomy. in the end, although research and medicine need each other, obviously they require each other, they're completely different beasts.

the lifestyle is different, the money is different, the experience is different... its just different....

the only good comparison is how easy it is to get into one or the other and that's just my own subjective experience. Applied to 4 Ph.D. programs, got into 2. Applied to 8 medical schools, got into 1, and was pimped regularly in the process.

Thats the other difference!!!!! I forgot!!! When you apply to ph.d. programs, when you get to the interview part, they pretty much want you. they treat you well, they impress you, THEY PAY for you to go visit them. THEY PAY!!!!!!!! wow!!! med school doesn't pay for you... and they can be mean....the school i got into wasn't (thank goodness!) but they can be.

okay. i'm done. oh wait, one more. the biggest difference - in Ph.D. programs i'd be working on genetically engineering bacteria and plants without photosynthesis B. Thanks to medical school, now I'll get to cut into people 🙂

 

[Dr JPH]

IMO a PhD is more difficult. Who can possibly spend that much time doing absolutely nothing working towards a degree?

At least in medical school you are DOING something.

There a reason I never went the PhD track...I'm finding it mind numbing enough just doing this research masters!

 

[MinnyGophers]

PhD is, in my opinion, more difficult to obtain than a MD, provided you are comparing a student in a medical program and a student in a PhD (in basic sciences) program. While it is harder to get into med school than into any PhD program, you can easily get kicked out of a PhD program by not passing the oral/written prelims. Then there is the final oral exam, as well as the thesis defense. It usually takes a minimum of five years to get your PhD and that is by spending 60-70 hours a week in lab, on top of classes/teaching assignments.

In med school, you are pretty much guaranteed that M.D/D.O as soon as you are accepted, provided you do the work.


Both are very different career paths, so you can't really compare one to the other. However, the academic field is not a walk in the park either.

 

[Scottish Chap]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

 

[szhao]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

i agree

 

[MadHopsMD]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

thats a pretty cool post... love the subject matter comment 👍

 

[Karina 07]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

Also agreed! Personally, on a master's course, I was astounded by my sudden inability to get good grades. Why? Because I spent undergrad learning how to parrot back things to professors, and at my graduate school they *particularly* emphasize independent thought, you CANNOT get a good mark without adding to the literature. Try adding to the literature during an *exam*. Yea, ouch.

 

[inside_edition]

Also agreed! Personally, on a master's course, I was astounded by my sudden inability to get good grades. Why? Because I spent undergrad learning how to parrot back things to professors, and at my graduate school they *particularly* emphasize independent thought, you CANNOT get a good mark without adding to the literature. Try adding to the literature during an *exam*. Yea, ouch.

the orgo exams at Umich contain questions based on recent literature and you solve them by using what you learned in lecture.

 

[FenderHM]

is it more dangerous to be a fireman or a cop? fireman have to fight fires occasionally, but they also respond to non-threatening medical situations a lot.. cops have to face gun-wieldling maniacs sometimes but often just eat donuts and bully regular people....

point being, different but related, still hard to compare....

 

[QuantumMechanic]

is it more dangerous to be a fireman or a cop? fireman have to fight fires occasionally, but they also respond to non-threatening medical situations a lot.. cops have to face gun-wieldling maniacs sometimes but often just eat donuts and bully regular people....

point being, different but related, still hard to compare....

similarly, the general public has much more respect for firefighters than policeman, kinda like their opinion of physicians compared to academics

 

[Gabujabu]

I think the main difference in difficulty comes down to these two points:

Medical schools are much harder to get into.
PhDs are much harder to graduate from.

Does this make sense?

 

[Heimerfink]

"PhD is harder to graduate from."

The reason why, percentage wise, more kids graduate from med school includes the fact that the kids going into graduate school are not as competitive as med school kids (at least in the sciences). There's tons of grad schools that are easy to get into as long as you have a 3.5 GPA. In other words, of course the parrots that end up in grad school don't do well.

 

[Heimerfink]

According to this forum and its logic, it's harder to graduate from my high school than college.

 

[_ian]

"PhD is harder to graduate from."

The reason why, percentage wise, more kids graduate from med school includes the fact that the kids going into graduate school are not as competitive as med school kids (at least in the sciences). There's tons of grad schools that are easy to get into as long as you have a 3.5 GPA. In other words, of course the parrots that end up in grad school don't do well.

People aren't talking about percentages. Normalizing for admissions standards really doesn't even things out.

 

[Gabujabu]

"PhD is harder to graduate from."

The reason why, percentage wise, more kids graduate from med school includes the fact that the kids going into graduate school are not as competitive as med school kids (at least in the sciences). There's tons of grad schools that are easy to get into as long as you have a 3.5 GPA. In other words, of course the parrots that end up in grad school don't do well.

You have a good point. I should offer a clarification:
PhDs are harder to graduate from and have a career that is not a perpetual string of postdocs/adjunct appointments that essentially constitute grunt labor.

My main point is that both tracks have a weeding out mechanism, in that for med school much of the weeding occurs in the admissions process and, to some extent, in the competition for selective residencies (though virtually all docs match somewhere). For the PhD route, it is easier to get in, but the weeding process continues in full swing after one gets in, through the PhD and postdoc levels.

 

[weathertalk]

PhD is a harder road IMHO. However, MDs have far more responsibility. If a PhD screws up, no one's going to die.

 

[Creightonite]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

agree as well. I am a Ph.D. student. Also, we assume MD students do not really understand concepts very deep but we understand they have to cover a greater variety of things than we do.

 

[45408]

I think the main difference in difficulty comes down to these two points:

Medical schools are much harder to get into.
PhDs are much harder to graduate from.

Does this make sense?

Well, you also have more of a kick in the pants to finish med school, because, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE NOW $172,000 IN DEBT! Plus undergrad expenses. Many PhD programs are free. That's certainly a fact worth noting....

But overall, I would agree that MD schools, unlike many other fields, do almost all of the screening BEFORE you ever walk in the door for orientation. A lot of other places will get you after you start.

 

[Scottish Chap]

"PhD is harder to graduate from."

The reason why, percentage wise, more kids graduate from med school includes the fact that the kids going into graduate school are not as competitive as med school kids (at least in the sciences). There's tons of grad schools that are easy to get into as long as you have a 3.5 GPA. In other words, of course the parrots that end up in grad school don't do well.

Oh....I'm going to disagree with you on that one! It might be hard for you to believe that some people really want to be scientists.😱 In good Ph.D. programs, you'll find the brightest of people....and they are very competitive students. Also, Ph.D. programs are not about the classes - it's the research, and that's not graded on a scale of A-E. Keep in mind not every graduate school over-inflates grades, too.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm not sure all PhD paths are equal. I know several people gettin PhD's in not particularly heady sciences, who work less than bankers' hours and have not missed a night at the bar in the last 5 years. They seem to spend more time talking about needing to get started on their thesis than they are likely going to spend actually writing it. Med school is perhaps not nearly as intellectually difficult, but they keep you loaded up and working at full speed for much of your med school experience.
But yes, about 95% of folks in US allo eventually graduate med school, so most who get in finish.

 

[MinnyGophers]

"PhD is harder to graduate from."

The reason why, percentage wise, more kids graduate from med school includes the fact that the kids going into graduate school are not as competitive as med school kids (at least in the sciences). There's tons of grad schools that are easy to get into as long as you have a 3.5 GPA. In other words, of course the parrots that end up in grad school don't do well.

Yeah, because those who aren't good enough aren't weeded out every year in grad school by the prelims. 🙄
You don't get handed a PhD, you EARN it. And you better be good at it if you want it under seven years. Also, you are NOT guaranteed that PhD. I see many grad students getting kicked out of their PhD program or rescinded to Masters because they didn't do well enough. Also, if you fail out, that is it.

Saying that grad students aren't as competitive in sciences is ridiculous. Graduate school classes are way more in depth than in med school, and GPA matters if you want research fellowships/post doc opportunities..

Unless you have done extensive research your undergrad years/ went to grad school, you have no clue how difficult it is.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Yeah, because those who aren't good enough aren't weeded out every year in grad school by the prelims. 🙄
You don't get handed a PhD, you EARN it. And you better be good at it if you want it under seven years. Also, you are NOT guaranteed that PhD. I see many grad students getting kicked out of their PhD program or rescinded to Masters because they didn't do well enough. Also, if you fail out, that is it.

Saying that grad students aren't as competitive in sciences is ridiculous. Graduate school classes are way more in depth than in med school, and GPA matters if you want research fellowships/post doc opportunities..

Unless you have done extensive research your undergrad years/ went to grad school, you have no clue how difficult it is.

Agreed - except, you will never be asked for your transcript for a postdoc. position. Your publications and interview seminar get you the position. The only exception would be if you decide to do a clinical fellowship (clinical biochemistry, medical micro. etc.), in which case, your grades earned in graduate school matter and you must provide a transcript for that position.

 

[maddscientist]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

Couldn't agree more with you. There is ZERO thinking going on in my med school classes. All you have to do is memorize and regurgitate. Compared to the concepts (and oral exams) involved with the classes I took on the road to my PhD, med school is a gravy train with biscuit wheels. The sheer amount of information involved with med school classes where they get you...

 

[1Path]

Compared to the concepts (and oral exams) involved with the classes I took on the road to my PhD, med school is a gravy train with biscuit wheels

Right on!Now I'm hungry!

 

[MinnyGophers]

Agreed - except, you will never be asked for your transcript for a postdoc. position. Your publications and interview seminar get you the position. The only exception would be if you decide to do a clinical fellowship (clinical biochemistry, medical micro. etc.), in which case, your grades earned in graduate school matter and you must provide a transcript for that position.

Thanks for the info, i actually didn't know that. I thought they reviewed you entirely.

 

[smuwillobrien]

M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

Well, put - you're hilarious. LOL

 

[Karina 07]

Currently, I'm in a Master's program -- a very academic, 2-year program, one not intended as a post-bacc but intended to have people continue on to a Ph.D. --

3.82 GPA from Dartmouth = average Master's student, in my case. Working as hard as I possibly can, I'm just mediocre 🙁. And that's not even among Ph.D. students....

But this is very particular to my own particular program. Very much merely an anecdote.

 

[adamMD]

PhDs require a lot more luck. I hate luck. Therefore, I feel the PhD is more difficult.

 

[Friendly]

PhDs require a lot more luck. I hate luck. Therefore, I feel the PhD is more difficult.

Not so much luck - that defeats the purpose of hypothesis-driven research. Focus AND hard work.

 

[RE Be]

m.d. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all ph.d. Students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: Subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

ph.d. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all m.d. Students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: Subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.

This is based on my experience. Each is an honor to undertake and each clearly has it's place, though neither is necessary to be competent in the other.

+1.

 

[JustinMC]

+2

 

[moneytree]

+1.

You just bumped a 5 year old thread bro.

 

[Perrotfish]

You
just bumped a 5 year old thread bro.

+1

 

[notbobtrustme]

 

[TheShaker]

Nice necro.

It still made for a very interesting read though. Now I wish I applied MD/PhD. 🙁

 

[unnamedlord]

As a PhD student you're likely to not work in Academia as most posts concern themselves with. In fact, most students go to industry or Wall street. The PhD track is much more manageable with family life and post-docs don't have the resident sort of life so honestly I would do a MD and if I can't become a PI with that (and you certainly can) then I would get a PhD and look at patients on the side. Certainly more independent research in PhD but if you make the effort as an undergrad and take grad courses plus try to come up with your own ideas you can set your mindframe to think like a researcher. Remember there have been MD nobel laureates and all you need to get a grant is to show that you can do your project and obv show rationality behind it.
Grants are now hard to get and so I highly doubt that in the future you will be doing independent research as a PhD... you will basically be doing what your boss tells you to do in the industry whereas as a MD your pay can come from other sources so your research can be inspired by the stars in your eyes.
According to ACS http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i23/Starting-Salaries.html :
12% of Chem majors in 2011 were unemployed and half of the PhD students were postdocs (which means that with grants getting tight there is a disaster coming).
Note: The reason why ACS says that majority of the jobs are in academia is cuz of the postdocs

Summary: It depends on who you are. Med schl last 2 years are going to give you more life skills than grad school if you did a lot of research in uni and actually came up with your own ideas. If you make the effort and go to a research intensive med schl then you might get a taste of both grad and MD schl.
If you are a memorizer than PhD is going to improve your brain and make you think more critically and innovatively.
Life as a PhD is a lot more harder and is going to get tighter than as a MD due to financial security and industry taking over.

 

[unnamedlord]

Here's a nobel laureate with just a BS and a MD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Beutler

 

[AshPreMed]

I thought MSc classes (or PhD) were easier to get high marks in than undergrad?

 

[Narmerguy]

I thought MSc classes (or PhD) were easier to get high marks in than undergrad?

Grades don't really matter in graduate school. It's all about thesis and publications.

 

[AshPreMed]

Grades don't really matter in graduate school. It's all about thesis and publications.

But won't med schools look at your grad school grades?

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I thought MSc classes (or PhD) were easier to get high marks in than undergrad?

Sort of. Grades in grad school work differently than in undergrad. In undergrad an "A" is great, a "B" is good, a "C" is mediocre, a "D" is a pseudo-pass, and an "F" is, well...an "F". In grad school an "A" is the only truly acceptable grade; a "B" will get you unwanted attention from your department if you get too many (ie academic probation), and anything below a "B" is failing. As a result, whenever someone boasts about their 3.8+ GPA in grad school the typical response is "well no ****, if you didn't have that GPA you wouldn't have even graduated".

Also, because the meaning of grades is so different in grad school professors tend to go easier on you. In my graduate neuroscience class I took before I graduated, for example, the only exam in the class was a take-home exam (it was to it's credit, however, far more difficult than I thought a take home exam could ever be), and the rest of the grade was calculated from a presentation and a 20 page term paper. That said, rest assured the material in grad classes is much harder than what you find in undergrad. In the grad class I was just talking about the professor would spend entire lectures going over differences in the neuroanatomy of subregions of the cortex between several different species of primates and rodents, often delineating entire circuits in the process such that by the time class was half over you gave up even trying to follow the lecture. On top of that, we had about 300 pages of journal article reading per week which was pretty typical for a grad class from what I was told.

 

[HoltMD]

We've had this discussion at my old job quite a bit. The pharmacists there always claimed that the difficulty level is as follows:

Pharmd > Phd > MD 😱

 

[thesauce]

You just bumped a 5 year old thread bro.

If you start a new thread, the first few posts will berate you for not searching. If you search and post in an old thread, the first few posts will berate you for reviving it.

 

[kpcrew]

If you start a new thread, the first few posts will berate you for not searching. If you search and post in an old thread, the first few posts will berate you for reviving it.

No one complains if you have a legitimate reason for bumping and contribute something useful. If you post "+1." in an old thread, you won't be impressing anyone. If you start a new thread about urms, md vs do, nurse vs physician, how to answer a secondary question, how late is late thread, then of course you're going to have people tell you to do a search.

 

[thesauce]

No one complains if you have a legitimate reason for bumping and contribute something useful.

This isn't true at all. Others commonly complain no matter how how substantial the post in a revived thread is. I've seen this time and time again. This one happens to not be particularly helpful, but it's better than starting up an entirely new thread for the purpose of posting just that.

If you post "+1." in an old thread, you won't be impressing anyone.

While I agree with you, it isn't really our place to dictate what others can or should post on these forums. If that's what he wants to contribute, so be it. Better here than in a new thread.

If you start a new thread about urms, md vs do, nurse vs physician, how to answer a secondary question, how late is late thread, then of course you're going to have people tell you to do a search.

And the counter-argument to this is, of course, that the situation may change at any time and new members with other insight may see the thread where they missed it before and and contribute something helpful. These are evolving discussions and things are constantly changing, both in the application process and in the careers themselves.

 

[kpcrew]

Those are all legitimate points. Then again, you can pretty much track the trajectory for many threads since they happen relatively often.

In any case, the whole uncertainty about getting a Ph.D. made me wary of going for one. I've spent a little time in the lab and found that there are many times when things that should be routine and straightforward tend not to be. You'll read a paper and follow the procedure but because they don't include all of the special techniques that they've developed, you'll be hard pressed to replicate their data accurately. Also, when someone publishes a graph or picture, chances are that those show the prettiest data points and were probably not a representative sample. Or you'll go through an experiment and finally get it all right and ready for publication but find that someone's already done it.