Going for a PhD / already have your PhD?

I believe every university has its own requirements, and it also depends on the field you're specializing in.

Here's an example from the University of Waterloo in Canada: http://gradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/page/GSO-Min-Require-PhD

-first earning your bachelors degree (at least three or four years) in college,
-then choosing a certain area of study and earning your masters degree (advanced knowledge of one subject) (at least 2 years)
-then getting a certain professor in that subject to choose you as his or her graduate student, and doing research in your area until you have discovered, or written, or analyzed, or interpreted something which no one else in your field has ever done. This paper you have written is judged by a group of professors to see if you are good enough to earn your doctorate. Then you have to pass your oral examination, where you sit all alone in front of the group of professors who ask you questions in your field until they finally get you to the point where you can't answer any more.
-Then they decide if you passed or not. If you pass you earn your PhD, which stand for Doctor of Philosophy, in your particular subject. So you become a PhD in Biology, or you get your PhD in French Literature, or something. And you get to be called Doctor, although you are not a medical doctor.

padre and rsb, I am familiar with the process. I was just interested in hearing others' experiences, see what kind of differences there are between countries/fields.

True, I'm doing my masters program right now so that I can enrol in a PhD program after I finish this. Of course, if you go through it, job opportunities are always more abundant here in North America.

Hey again!

Here the job opportunities are better for PhDs, too. Although plenty of PhDs seem to be jobless, which is a shame. I once read an article that said employers think those with a doctorate are overeducated for the job, or dislike hiring someone more educated than them.

That's mostly with immigrants, isn't it?

I don't think so, foreign professors/PhDs wouldn't move here if they didn't have a job waiting, that'd be insane.

Many Western countries have strict immigration laws where they select for people with this sort of education. So it's not insane.

That last comment makes no sense, laws against educated immigrants? Come again...

That's how they select for immigrants these days.

That's why you have Indian and Pakistanis with PhDs working at coffee shops or driving cabs. It's true whether you like it or not.

Anyways, that news I gave was about freshly graduated Finnish PhDs, apparently too many graduate each year. Finland encourages immigrancy because we don't have enough people to fill some jobs. Some political parties want to start campaigns on filling those jobs with Finns instead of foreigners, because so many natives are unemployed. I see plenty of Indian, British, German, etc. professors at my school but that's just one person'd experience

Same in Canada. I suppose you should focus on something that isn't so common.

I'm thinking of doing something abroad, if there is a better chance of employment than here. There isn't much job market for biologists unfortunately. But why settle for something not as interesting, if the dreams you're after are risky?