My wife and I are international students planning on applying for PhD programs in the US (at nearby universities, post-bachelor's, stat/AI/ML area). We would like to know how manageable it would be to have kids while in the middle of our PhD programs. This is different from similar questions that...
W.r.t. (a), I would venture that the vast majority of US citizens are in grad school far from family. At least in my own dept., that number would be about 4%.
Would you consider doing your PhDs in a country that has a better system for families? In the Netherlands you would get paid leave. IMHO: being a parent is the most meaningful thing you will do in live, i hope you find a way.
@Ivana Thank you for the suggestion! I would prefer Europe too tbh but as far as I am aware, European universities are not as generous with funding (TA-ships, etc are rare) and they also include a masters requirement which could take 2 years to complete in addition to the 5 of a PhD. The US is the only country I know of that offers tuition-free, stipend-included PhDs with direct entry from a bachelor's degree.
@Yuprik Yuprik In many European countries, higher education is either completely free or comes with a (minor) fee for foreigners. While not always the norm, there are fast-track PhD programs in Europe that do not require a master to begin a PhD, but they are somewhat competitive. Moneywise, not too sure about other countries, but at least in Germany you are a paid employee while working towards your PhD, earning between 50% and 75% of whatever a Postdoc earns. Theoretically, one salary (instead of you and your wife's) is enough to support your family.
@YuprikYuprik just to get this right: while master programs in the European system (non-anglosaxian) are usually unpaid (like a bachelor in the US), it is free or has very low tuition fees. On the other hand, PhD positions are paid (!). You get money for your work. It's them that pay you. There are indeed no "tuition-free, stipend-included PhDs" in Europe, because the problems don't exist in the first place ;) We call it "public education" and "salary". I would strongly suggest to read up on it, following your arguments you would likely prefer Europe over the US.
There's a potential advantage, which no-one seems to mention. Children born in the US and in some other countries get citizenship of their country of birth. Still, this might be better deferred till a later stage of the PhD.
Discussion on question by Yuprik Yupr…
Discussion on question by Yuprik Yupr…