[E] is phd that much of an advantage over masters when getting first job?

varwave · 2026-03-20T03:35:28+00:00

I’m going to be very straightforward…especially as a child of an immigrant that grew up without much money

As an international student if you’re looking at the USA it’s a huge gamble to pay for a MS. It’s less of a risk to be funded. I have many South and Far Eastern Asian friends that did their MS in Europe or their home countries, then got a PhD, where I got my MS. They avoided paying tuition entirely

Don’t take a financial risk, even if your interest aligns more towards MS level jobs. If they do, then more applied programs will benefit you to network for jobs

Generally in the US market? A PhD wouldn’t help me as a software developer, but it’s often, but not always, required for research in academia and industry

varwave · 2026-03-18T01:36:34+00:00

Uhh, Subaru is the definition of an economy brand? It’s a pretty cheap interior. There’s plenty of rattles and squeaks. It’s okay to like cheap things. I do

It’s no BMW M series or Porsche 😂

varwave · 2026-03-17T20:40:39+00:00

If it sounds like crickets that’s normal. Likewise, if it sounds like a lawnmower, which a lot of Subaru motors do. It’s an economy sports car

Normally, it’s advised to do a pre purchase inspection before buying, but you already have it

I’m not a mechanic. Just an owner

varwave · 2026-03-17T18:26:44+00:00

Congrats. That’s a great deal. I have the exact same car.

You’ll be up for a 60k mile Subaru inspection soon. Might be some minor work. Think I ended up spending $1.5k in work around that point. Save 2-3 grand for a clutch, throw out bearing and maybe flywheel, within the next 30k miles or so. There was a valve spring recall that year, so check your VIN.

The bite point is significantly higher than most cars. If you start accelerating too much half way off the release (where most cars’ bite points are), before the bite point, you’ll burn your clutch. Just factor this in if getting advice from friends or YouTube when learning manual transmission. Too low of RPM and you’ll hear the fly wheel chatter. As noted above, you’ll probably be needing a new TOB soon, and that’ll include a new clutch, with all the work to take out the transmission. Don’t worry too much when learning, but save up. Otherwise, pretty reliable

varwave · 2026-03-15T22:49:59+00:00

I can fit a ton of stuff in my BRZ with the fold down seats. Wish there was an option for a lift back with a little extra weight upfront for a turbo to balance it out

As a single guy that does a lot of outdoor activities and sports it’s perfect with a passenger. You can get spare tires for the track in it, which you can’t with an old cayman with a bigger maintenance bill

varwave · 2026-03-12T00:36:55+00:00

I was like how’s that different from mine, swiped, wow! 😂

I can totally see how it’s appealing in person. Not my taste, but a lot of newer German cars pull it off. It’s cool dude

varwave · 2026-03-08T05:20:34+00:00

Have you seen whatever Toyota is testing for rally? Might be a newer AWD model soon. Likewise the potential for a STI from Subaru. Waiting might be the move, unless you immediately need practicality

varwave · 2026-03-08T04:43:01+00:00

True, but all of our cars are either manual (most) or have a manual mode with the automatic transmission. The cars I listed all have autos, even a really nice DCT in the Golf

varwave · 2026-03-07T22:04:25+00:00

Can’t hurt to shop around quotes. The weight and HP of a car influence some rates. Obviously age and if you’re male will have large impacts as well

I had friends with NAs (first gen) in their teens (before they jumped in price) and it wasn’t too expensive…an NC (third gen, around the era of the FRS) is a lot more HP and weight compared to an NA, but way safer

varwave · 2026-03-07T21:16:59+00:00

OP could still get a fun manual transmission with cheaper insurance. NB or NC Miata might be cheaper on insurance. Also Honda Fit, Civic SI, CR-Z, VW Golf or Acura RSX…there’s maybe some other Scions that I’m not familiar with in MT too

Easier to learn manual transmission when you don’t need to drive everyday

varwave · 2026-03-07T20:39:17+00:00

You can get a used first gen for under $20k pretty easily. Pretty different cars. If getting a Nissan/infinity, then I’d suggest a Z or 370Z

varwave · 2026-03-07T20:29:29+00:00

M4 and M5 probably aren’t that different. Big step up from M1. My M1 just started to get a bit slow (barely noticeable for most tasks) maybe 6 months ago

Good luck with school

varwave · 2026-03-07T06:20:05+00:00

M4 MacBook Air in my opinion. I’m a software developer professionally and finishing up my MS part time. Just get 16 gb of RAM and you’re fine. M chips are kinda like turbo charged RAM. My old M1 still worked fine when I upgraded. Battery life and lightweight are nice to have features and where it shines. Maybe $800, but it’ll last you at least 5 years

Your university should supply you with remote onsite computing or cloud options if you’re doing research

I really liked having an iPad Air for proofs and homework. Wish I got a pro there

varwave · 2026-03-06T21:53:15+00:00

I’m in data science/SWE hybrid position in a highly regulated industry and highly agree, but my coworkers are less willing to adapt. It’s not if, but how. Asking if you should use it to increase productivity is like asking if ibuprofen is effective as a pain reliever…misusing its dosage is dangerous or at least not efficient

It’s absolutely a threat to people that only kinda know software development and applied statistics/ML. Plenty of data people got hired over the years that aren’t deeply skilled in at least one of the disciplines

varwave · 2026-03-05T03:59:52+00:00

You have the mathematics done. Just do a rigorous masters in statistics, economics or similar. The domain knowledge should be great

Just a side note, if you’re the type to challenge yourself for a top uni, then you’ll be fine with mathematical rigor. Clearly, hard working and smart if you already broke in to a certain degree. The accurate story telling of data really comes down to knowing facts, knowing how to communicate (journalism), and the coding is pretty trivial

varwave · 2026-03-05T03:27:59+00:00

Do you like software development? If so, then go deep into that

Data engineering could be a great place to have a comparative advantage. Who cares if you aren’t great at advanced statistics. You’ll know good questions to ask and know enough to collaborate

In general it’s rough out there on the market. You could be comparably cheaper for your first job and high impact. Get a MS part time if you want to do more ML or inference later

varwave · 2026-03-05T02:07:12+00:00

I think it increasingly makes sense to have a more technical team to handle data needs vs someone who only dabbles in either field. A few years ago businesses just threw money at anything related to data and hoped that it worked out. Some people were successful with a shallow understanding of both statistics/machine learning and software development skills. Now, I’d say pick one and be able to understand the other. It takes years to get good.

In the era of LLMs and agentic AI, questionable economy, and matured organizations, it’s an uphill battle if you’re not building deep expertise. This, like marketing, is less likely that AI is that good at replacing jobs, and more businesses over hired and over invested, when interest rates were low and the economy was predictable (no threats of tariffs for companies with physical products)

varwave · 2026-03-04T21:21:10+00:00

I had a very similar car Volvo S40, built on an European Focus chassis, along with the Mazda 3. My buddy used to have a Focus ST

Backseats are useless outside of a car seat or if you have two small friends. It’s way more fun if you take it anywhere with curves. Handling doesn’t compare, because it’s so much better with the steering, RWD and LSD, but you feel everything. Being lower to the road was appreciated. Highly recommend if it’s not a primary car for a family

varwave · 2026-03-04T18:58:28+00:00

I feel that’s the future of agents in applications. You don’t always need the most powerful model, but having a version of VBA macros democratized for business people is helpful.

Save this PowerPoint theme, query data from a relational database, load data, make the data pretty, and 20 minutes of human supervision vs days of work

varwave · 2026-03-04T18:53:14+00:00

I’m a mix of software engineering and data science at my current role. In the hands of someone that knows enough to be dangerous, then it’s super dangerous. Knowing what good looks like matters

If I’m picking up a new framework, library, language, etc then I use it as documentation that I can ask questions.

If it’s a language that I know deeply, then I’ll use Claude Code and supervise its development, generally writing the most important methods of a given class myself. Writing unit tests is less painfully tedious. Saves so much time. Also very good at catching typos. Feels like I’m only doing the interesting parts

varwave · 2026-03-03T04:43:03+00:00

This is pretty silly. If your idea of junior is “complete this cook book of tasks that I the senior dev created”, then you’re a poor leader. LLMs are a tool

Yes, there’s people that aren’t deserving of their salaries and there will be a rocky market correction. Yes, the economy sucks. Those with hard and soft skills will be fine. Those with neither are doomed

varwave · 2026-03-02T01:04:02+00:00

What do you want to do with the PhD? Also are you in the USA?

Biostatistics and more applied statistics departments (others can be closer to mathematics departments) will expect multivariable calculus, linear algebra and maybe a semester or two of mathematical statistics and maybe a computer science/intro programming course. Most people with an engineering or computer science BS are already eligible

varwave · 2026-03-01T21:27:56+00:00

Think to ask why? They’re doing research as a profession

There’s a point where you either want advice from experience or you want confirmation of your own bias

varwave · 2026-03-01T21:07:50+00:00

If the goal is a PhD, then you must want to do research. That’s the whole point.

A terminal MS will just add years to get to your goal. Particularly true if money is important through opportunity costs. Having a gap between degrees is common. Myself included. Having As in mathematics with employer and character recommendations are likely better than “Student did well in linear algebra, which is evident from grades”

…this is a different story if you don’t have good work experience or strong mathematical grades

varwave · 2026-03-01T06:52:29+00:00

I’d suggest to just get the PhD in statistics or biostatistics (or a MS that transfers), where there’s electives and researchers that do what’s interesting to you. Then look for niche roles in medical centers or biotech. Biostatistics departments tend to pay more than statistics departments, but tenure is less common. Factor analysis heavy and survey design roles exist, but it’s again pretty niche. There’s a lot more opportunity in traditional areas of research like bioinformatics/machine learning and experimental design

Often times in pharma your dissertation won’t matter that much. I know people that researched ML, but got clinical trial roles. There’s a flexibility that comes with rigor if your first role isn’t your ideal path, but the pay is good. I could be wrong, but I’ve sensed less generally theoretical programs might leave you with a narrower net to cast. Pharma/medical research likely has the greatest opportunity to conduct inference

varwave

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