How to get a PhD in mathematics in a timely fashion (2020) [pdf]
This is a useful nuts-and-bolts discussion of the academic routine, but I&#x27;d disagree with this conclusion:<p>&gt; &quot;It’s your company. Mathematicians each run a small business. We work in
malls called math departments. Your company sells theorems. Your advisor is a free
consultant for your company, not your boss, not your employee. Ultimately YOU are
responsible for the success of your company...&quot;<p>The adoption of corporate entrepreneur model of academic research is one of the worst, if not the worst, things about the current American academic system.  Why?<p>First of all, who is funding this &#x27;company&#x27;?  Not you, in all likelihood - it&#x27;s the tax-paying public who finances the majority of the funding train that keeps academic institutions afloat. What does the public expect in return, ideally?<p>Well, how about producing highly skilled teachers, that seems important in a technological society, where mathematical skills are in general critically important.  Hence, a critical part of the PhD student&#x27;s job (and the professor&#x27;s) is the instruction of the undergraduate population.  This article doesn&#x27;t even mention the importance of that role.<p>Secondly, corporate research is highly secretive and non-collaborative in nature, as the goal is creation of intellectual property that can be sold on for a profit.  This attitude is entirely at odds with the most successful acadamic model for making scientific progress, i.e. collaboration and rapid sharing of results.  If you spend your time in academia worrying about people stealing your work and not trusting anyone, it&#x27;s going to be a fairly miserable experience.<p>My advice is to toss the corporate enterpreneur model in the garbage bin.