Nay probs. I've put my fishing rod away,
caught a whopper tonight

Ok I'll stop now.
God you were easy to fish, I'll just haul you in and throw you in the keep-net. The egomaniacs are always the easiest to catch out (they usually lack self-awareness), and usually provide the most fun. Cheers

Fortunately -- and again you're making me suspicious -- I "qualified" (lol), when I, er, hold on, signed up as a user of the forum!!!

Oh god please don't show this thread to your new employers, I'd hate to see their arching eyebrows as your ego and self-image expanded (pmsl)

Perhaps read the thread from the start, as you're up and about?

The original poster was JENNIFR. Struggling with that?

I think the dollar signs are affecting both your intelligence and your eyesight.

You do seem "tough" though, in a typing way.

Not online, no.

The point being it can and does get you a PhD, but the actual worth of that type of PhD is decreasing rapidly, leading to the original post from Jennifr. Capice?

* analysis

Of course there are other ways, that anyone on here has suggested there are not is absurd, but then I'm not sure you can cope with sustained, reasoned argument!! (cue the insults )

A better reply, but still humourous.
You contribute numerous postings but can't be bothered to read a few more, your time must be ultra-precious.

And why do you feel the need to denounce other people when asserting your own opinion? - the classical sign of weak anlaysis and unreasoned argument. Why the sustained attention on one poster? Which parts of my posts do you disagree with, as this is still unclear even after your multiple post?

A stimulating and interesting thread, de-railed by you. Pleased?

The holiday was brilliant, thanks, but it merely delayed writing what I've written below. My tone is disparaging on purpose because his/her contribution was, imo, poor (despite confirming earlier thoughts that those with an industry preference are more suited to PhD-dom).

I'm still buzzing off the time away, I thoroughly recommend it after 3 years of slog

Laugh? I think your consultancy would charge me for it, so I’ll just pass on your advice altogether, thanks. Good luck with your industry-related position though; hope you can make a fast buck.

“I see where you are coming from, you're right, a PhD is no necessity in my current job, but it's no harm either”. – So you do a huge u-turn on your original statement where you say, “I'm not attacking you, I'm just completely dis-agreeing with every single word you say”. Two things stand out – that you were so quick to type you didn’t really know what you were typing; in that respect you reflect quite well the current condition of post-PhD academia in a great many UK universities (imo). And that you think if we all fought just that bit harder, brushed up our cv’s just that little bit better, spent just a few more invisible pounds on a suit with a better thread count, yes, then all 40,000+ PhD candidates would ALL get those jobs they wanted.

“The whole PhD thing just happened without it being my lifelong ambition” – ahh, and there’s the rub. In a matter of years if not already it is increasingly likely that PhD’s will represent little more than a little status tag that helped along a career here, bumped up an industry person’s pay there. Why should we remember the origins of the PhD award anyway? It’s all about being tough, having the most transferable skills etc; not trying to prove something new or exciting or worthwhile, right?

“But you have no idea how the industry sees you: as a highly qualified, very ambitious high-flyer”. Heaven help me if that’s how people see me; I cringe at the thought. I’d rather be respected for intelligence, dedication to research and accurate findings, and so on, so perhaps your own materialistic, image-driven sentiment isn’t so relative to the question that was asked at the start of the thread. You crave money and social advancement (from what and how you write), many on here have stated that they do not, so you miss their point entirely.