I believe most PhD candidates have their educations funded by their institution. They also receive a small stipend. Usually its enough to barely get by. I know several people in this situation.
I moved away from RTP after working there for 6 years and moved to San Diego in 2001. I grew up in SOuth Carolina and had enough of south, I still love the place, just do not want to live there even though my house only cost 150k there in RTP in Cary, NC, 4 bedroom 2000sqft, 0.4 acre lot. But man it is HOT AND HUMID. My wife and I were thinking about moving back to RTP area, but I was there just recently for business and quickly remembered why i had left. It is a good place to raise family in Cary where I lived, non-existant crime, you can leave your door unlocked( although I never did and never understood why others would). GOod schools. But in the end I was a little tired of the heat and sometimes the “good ol boys” that gave me some daunting stares. Life goes on.
I was reading this post yesterday and felt that I had to reply today. I am a graduate student at UCSD with about 5 months to go before I get my PhD. If you are wondering how graduate students (22k a year) and post-docs (35-40k) make it in San Diego I can tell you. They are delaying all decisions that cost money until the future. They drive old “college” cars, rent 1-2 bedroom apartments, and won’t think of having kids until they find a better job (which by then they will be around 35 years old. Many young people are in this boat, which is why the number of American children in San Diego is dropping quickly (replaced by immigrant children). It doesn’t say much for the future of the county, but then again, most of us moved here to experience it for a while and most of us will move somewhere else when we are done.
I was reading this post yesterday and felt that I had to reply today. I am a graduate student at UCSD with about 5 months to go before I get my PhD. If you are wondering how graduate students (22k a year) and post-docs (35-40k) make it in San Diego I can tell you. They are delaying all decisions that cost money until the future. They drive old “college” cars, rent 1-2 bedroom apartments, and won’t think of having kids until they find a better job (which by then they will be around 35 years old. Many young people are in this boat, which is why the number of American children in San Diego is dropping quickly (replaced by immigrant children). It doesn’t say much for the future of the county, but then again, most of us moved here to experience it for a while and most of us will move somewhere else when we are done.
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