Most airlines are looking for a degree now.

 

What are the pros and cons?

^ Look up Hank Moody from Californication.

That seems the be the trend. It'll be interesting to see what happens when the 1500hr rule hits in August.

Cons: You spend many years of your life earning a Ph.D. During that time you are going into debt, or at minimum you are taking on a lot of opportunity costs, since you're not actively building up your savings. You do all this to make yourself eligible for a job that pays very little. And the likelihood of your actually getting one of these jobs is becoming increasingly slim. There are a lot of people in academia who really, really dislike teaching. There are others who like teaching, but really hate publishing. Those are two completely different skills, but you have to do a lot of both, and you have to do both at least reasonably well.

Pros: You get to read books and write books for a living. Presumably, these are books about things that you're very interested in. Moreover, you have a fair bit of flexibility in setting your work hours. I work about 70-80 hours per week, but I decide for the most part which hours those are. That's not a bad life. (I'll add this too: I say I work 70-80 hours a week, but honestly, I don't think of what I do as work. When I was young, I worked 10-12 hour shifts in a factory. That's work. Nowadays I love what I'm doing too much to think of it as work.)

Would have loved to be a master brewer at a micro-brewery, but instead I'm a dentist. You do see disgusting things from time to time, but you get used to it. Oh, but the flexible hours make it all up, not to mention my 5 weeks of vacation coming up later this month.

the money is fantastic. you get to be your own boss, plus where I am, the government is closely considering having medicare cover basic dental. sure, the quality of care will drop but you'd be $wimming in money.

 

i'd rather stick my hands in someone's mouths than defend paedophiles, crazy axe murderers and the like  ):

Sure money would be good because everyone will have coverage, but you'll be at the mercy of the government. Here in BC, Canada, we have coverage for the Natives and people on disability. The government only pays for certain procedures, and the amount they pay is usually a lot less than the going rate. Every year our dental college would produce a new fee guide, and the fee is increased base on inflation, no such luck with the government plan. You get do the most difficult extraction in the world, with X-rays to prove it, but the government insurance adjuster can pay you for the easiest extraction...basically saying that you lied about your work.

There are tonnes of other issues too, so good thing we are not part of the Canadian health care plan.

Never once did I want to change the career path I chose. That said, I think I would make a great scientist of some type.

Actually a doctor working for Medecins Sans Frontieres would be the dream, or something in marine biology.

 

I thought you always wanted to be an architect.

Actually I originally wanted to be a city planner but my scholarship fell through so I'm working my way up in a gang now

Medicine. I wish I'd become a doctor.

A close second would be something on the water - maybe a captain, owning a charter service, etc.