Life as a PhD student is not the same as life as an undergrad. Youre there for the academic experience, not for anything else. Dont expect to be able to join clubs and have time to socialize or go to football games. You may even find yourself feeling jealous of undergrads.

Is being a PhD student fun?

If youre in a good program, getting a PhD can be a fun and stimulating experience (although still a lot of work). The main thing I would say is, you should be deriving some net benefit from getting a PhD.

What do PhD students actually do?

As a PhD student youll be at the cutting edge of your field, doing original research and producing new results. This means that your work will be interest to other scholars and that your results could be worth presenting at academic conferences. Doing this is very worthwhile, whatever your career plans.

Is a doctorate a waste of time?

The Economist, in a featured story in its year-end issue, say it probably isnt, and that the 64,000 PhDs awarded annually in the U.S. are often a waste of time for both the long-suffering student and academia itself. Universities have discovered that PhD students are cheap, highly motivated and disposable labour.