Billyonaire: Do you imagine how this planet would have been if Albeit Eistein, Thomas Edison, Steve Job and other great inventors live up to 200 yrs each ?

Without the fear and urgency of mortality, the men who once had those names would not have been known today...because they may not have been pushed enough to do what they did.

Awesome comments from most guys. I am 28 and currently running a PhD program in geophysics in UNIPORT. I make my living through photography n some other little biz (naija brouhaha). Howbeit, I have long identified what I want in life although I'm battling with the harsh conditions in this country. Yes I have flare for teaching but I ULTIMATELY want to solve scientific problems which will definitely put food on my table. Can't fold my hands and wait, so I choose to expand my knowledge. So my friends, dont forget to remember that 'Knowledge is Power'. Expand your horizon in your field and let no one stop your dreams. Keep Winning!!

There is a debate going on currently at Harvard Business School on the economic value of education and the benefits of the alternatives forgone herein. Education is good no doubt even to Phd level but does ot make one a better individual?

I think the answer to that is obvious because you cannot "kick it" if you don't have it in you Phd or not. One irony to the mad rush to acquire an education instead of knowledge is that the economy and world at large is controlled by people that have not really placed an undue emphasis on the above herein. This is the obvious around us. Dangote, Aig, Elumelu, Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc don't have Phds yet they are kicking it.

I think we all need to embark on an intense soul searching to really understand what our calling is. It is only through this that we can reach our peak performance and full potential. For some, not getting an education and starting a business might be it for others it might involve getting an education even up to Phd level, for some, a secondary school qualification will just suffice etc. We don't all need to jump on the bandwagon of acquiring a "Phd" because it is now the fad just as the MBA was previously.


There is a difference between having an education and being educated!

deenee: There is a debate going on currently at Harvard Business School on the economic value of education and the benefits of alternative forgone herein. Education is good no doubt even to Phd level but does ot make one a better individual?

I think the answer to that is obvious because you cannot "kick it" if you don't have it in you Phd or not. One irony to the mad rush to acquire an education instead of knowledge is that the economy and world at large is controlled by people that have not really placed an undue emphasis on the above herein. This is the obvious around us. Dangote, Aig, Elumelu, Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc don't have Phds yet they are kicking it.

I think we all need to embark on an intense soul searching to really understand what our calling is. It is only through this that we can reach our peak performance and full potential. For some, not getting an education and starting a business might be it for others it might involve getting an education even up to Phd level, for some, a secondary school qualification will just suffice etc. We don't all need to jump on the bandwagon of acquiring a "Phd" because it is now the fad just as the MBA was previously.


There is a difference between having an education and being educated!

I think, for Nigerians especially, there's an overwhelming desire to follow the bandwagon. Crowd or herd mentality. Nobody really cares why anybody is doing anything, they just hear the words 'money' and 'lucrative' and that's it.

Then there's an overwhelming inferiority complex, which I find surprising in a people as accomplished as Nigerians are. Even the best of us walk around with a huge log, not a chip, on their shoulder. I have never been able to get that. I guess it must be a fallout of slavery and colonization, which seems to have robbed the Negro people of natural self-confidence.

[quote author=SimonAndal]
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Like I said, I finalised my plans long before becoming a JAMBite. Age is just a cumbersome number. Dont cross the bridge until u get there.

I feel obliged to contribute to this discuss. As some people here have rightly noted, a PhD is an opportunity to do independent research in a specific aspect of a subject area. Doing a PhD is very challenging. I read in an article that PhD students and post doctorates are among the group of workers who put in the highest number of work hours in the United States, as much as eighty hours every week. Now, how profitable is getting a PhD. In answering this, I would focus on science and technology PhDs which I have some knowledge about. Your prospects at the completion of your PhD depends on your location and on what subject area you did your PhD in. For instance, doing a PhD in Atomic Physics in Nigeria might not offer you more than a lecturing job while studying the same course abroad could offer you an opportunity to do top level research in an huge, well-funded research facility or specialized company. Unfortunately, Nigeria has largely a consumer(buying and selling)economy. So very few industries need PhDs in Nigeria.
In any case, I don't think having a PhD guarantees a higher salary or better employment benefit than not having one. But what is wrong with pursuing your passion. Must we do things just for material benefits or recognition. Should smart guys from secondary schools all rush to accounting and oil and gas related courses because been a Medical Doctor does not pay much financially? Doing a PhD is never a waste of time.

Well, for what its worth, most people I know who have done a PhD are first-rate scholars. Which sort of nullifies the writer's argument.
An average scholar would probably never follow through with a PhD anyway. You have to love academics and research to withstand that rigor.

deenee: There is a debate going on currently at Harvard Business School on the economic value of education and the benefits of the alternatives forgone herein. Education is good no doubt even to Phd level but does ot make one a better individual?

I think the answer to that is obvious because you cannot "kick it" if you don't have it in you Phd or not. One irony to the mad rush to acquire an education instead of knowledge is that the economy and world at large is controlled by people that have not really placed an undue emphasis on the above herein. This is the obvious around us. Dangote, Aig, Elumelu, Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc don't have Phds yet they are kicking it.

I think we all need to embark on an intense soul searching to really understand what our calling is. It is only through this that we can reach our peak performance and full potential. For some, not getting an education and starting a business might be it for others it might involve getting an education even up to Phd level, for some, a secondary school qualification will just suffice etc. We don't all need to jump on the bandwagon of acquiring a "Phd" because it is now the fad just as the MBA was previously.


There is a difference between having an education and being educated!

This is for every degree - even BSc in Nigeria. The import of the degree is usually skewed to translate into ecomonic success. While bread must be buttered, individuals have different indices of contentment but living conditions and irresponsibilities of govts have led to having more responsibilities financially when you advance educationally.


Like the last poster mentioned, PhD is like the passion of a writer - it never dies until the ink does it work.