u/Alternative-Pie-3956

I’m confused between pursuing a PhD (likely in AI-related fields) vs focusing fully on building a startup, and I’d genuinely appreciate perspectives from people who have taken either path.

A big part of my attraction toward a PhD is:

• intellectual curiosity
• desire to work on meaningful problems
• long-term research exposure/credibility
• possibility of living independently abroad and experiencing a different environment

But I’m also trying to be honest with myself that some of this motivation may be idealized.

At the same time, I already work full-time as a developer and I’m also building an IT startup alongside my job. I enjoy building products and solving practical problems, and part of me feels entrepreneurship may be a more realistic and impactful path for my situation.

My background is also quite unconventional:

• I’m from a tier-3 city in India
• I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and I’m a wheelchair user with severe weakness in both legs and hands
• I have a government-certified 90% physical disability
• parts of my education happened through homeschooling/non-traditional learning
• my CGPA and academic consistency suffered partly because I was balancing health issues, work, and studies simultaneously

Because of this, I sometimes struggle to judge myself fairly.

Some days I feel a PhD could completely transform my life intellectually and personally. Other days I wonder whether I’m romanticizing academia and whether my strengths are actually more aligned with building products/startups despite my academic record.

One thing I’m struggling with:
Would delaying a PhD by 3–5 years make it harder later because of responsibilities and startup involvement? Or can industry/startup experience actually make someone a stronger PhD candidate and researcher later on?

I’d especially love to hear from people who:

• pursued a PhD after industry/startup experience
• had a non-traditional academic background
• managed disability/chronic illness alongside academia or entrepreneurship
• postponed academia and later returned
• regret choosing one path over the other

What did you underestimate before making your decision?

I’m confused between pursuing a PhD (likely in AI-related fields) vs focusing fully on building a startup, and I’d genuinely appreciate perspectives from people who have taken either path.

A big part of my attraction toward a PhD is:

- intellectual curiosity

- desire to work on meaningful problems

- long-term research exposure/credibility

- possibility of living independently abroad and experiencing a different environment

But I’m also trying to be honest with myself that some of this motivation may be idealized.

At the same time, I already work full-time as a developer and I’m also building an IT startup alongside my job. I enjoy building products and solving practical problems, and part of me feels entrepreneurship may be a more realistic and impactful path for my situation.

My background is also quite unconventional:

- I’m from a tier-3 city in India

- I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and I’m a wheelchair user with severe weakness in both legs and hands

- I have a government-certified 90% physical disability

- parts of my education happened through homeschooling/non-traditional learning

- my CGPA and academic consistency suffered partly because I was balancing health issues, work, and studies simultaneously

Because of this, I sometimes struggle to judge myself fairly.

Some days I feel a PhD could completely transform my life intellectually and personally. Other days I wonder whether I’m romanticizing academia and whether my strengths are actually more aligned with building products/startups despite my academic record.

One thing I’m struggling with:

Would delaying a PhD by 3–5 years make it harder later because of responsibilities and startup involvement? Or can industry/startup experience actually make someone a stronger PhD candidate and researcher later on?

I’d especially love to hear from people who:

- pursued a PhD after industry/startup experience

- had a non-traditional academic background

- managed disability/chronic illness alongside academia or entrepreneurship

- postponed academia and later returned

- regret choosing one path over the other

What did you underestimate before making your decision?