I'll ask you the same thing I asked him then. Why are you here in this subreddit? If I had questions about a PhD in Statistics, I'd be in r/statistics. I get that a PhD is not all that it's cracked up to be. Nothing in life is. I get that it's a subject in its infancy, but it's currently 3/4ths of my JOB. I didn't come here to be deterred. I came asking doctorates in data science THEIR thoughts. I love the idea that D.S. is a wide landscape. That means I have ample amounts of ways to pivot. Even if DS evolves into something else... guess what? I can evolve with it. Web Masters didn't just die. They became Web Developers, Web architects, web authors whatever.

Your initial post stated that you weren't trying to dissuade me one way or the other, but this proves that was incorrect. This subreddit is pro-DS and one of the few places someone inquisitive, like myself, can go to ask questions about getting into the field. If your only advice is not to... don't respond.

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Anything worth having is worth working for. And I just told you it was worth it to me.