Not having a degree is not the end of the world. Letting go of that terror of not having the degree after all helped me lots to actually finish.

When you start a business, there is always that risk of things not ending up how you planned them. But you take the calculated risk and do it anyway.

A Ph.D. is the same way – when you start you are taking a risk. You might not finish with a Ph.D. Lots of things could happen and maybe you don’t get one at the end.

I think it’s about a third that leaves without a Ph.D. – comment below if you know better. It’s really pretty common. You are risking investing your time, energy, and life. You are accepting a low income (maybe debt) in the meantime and fewer savings and less retirement money.

But you do it anyway. Because you are really, really passionate about something. You are no different than an entrepreneur!

Full blog post:

Why doing a PhD required me to think like a business owner