Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> The requirement that you
> have to do something "new" seems pretty hard to meet; almost everything
> has been done already.

I think the idea is that you find an advisor with a topic that interests you.
He/she has ideas that you implement and explore.  This leads to new ideas
(yours!) that you can explore.  Not many people can walk into a field with
fresh new ideas and no experience.

>  They just want to know whether you have skill X. If you do
> not have skill X, not interested. Goodbye.

As was pointed out, a few years of study in field Y should put you in touch with
people who also care about skill Y.

> On that basis, I don't think it would make a difference. (Although I did
> manage to find *one* job that required a PhD. But that was working for a
> bank, which is obviously absurd.)

I was using a computational fluid dynamics code written elsewhere by a grad
student.  I guess he now does stochastic modeling for a bank on Wall Street.

> > I've been told that while a PhD may close some doors, it
> > will open up a completely different set of opportunities.
>
> Mm'kay...

Maybe I should elaborate.  At a Q&A session, people were worried they would be
viewed as overqualified or not have experience in exactly the right field.  The
answer was that if that's the case it's probably not the right job anyway, but
there are certainly jobs out there that do match a different set of
qualifications.  Many of these jobs may carry more freedom and responsibility.

> LOL! What a way to live... Monte Carlo sampling of all possible fields
> of human exploration until you hit upon something interesting. :-D

This would lead to two possibilities: either everyone and everything else in the
world is boring, or...

> Heh. I'm only asking because everybody *else* seems to think I should! :-P
>
> Still, I guess it merits further attention...

Forgive me.  I'm not trying to convince you to do anything, only trying to
convince you that it's not an impossibility.  You obviously want a job that
gives you the freedom to explore and apply yourself.  Grad school is one way to
move in that direction, but certainly not the only way.

 - Ricky

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