&gt; I will say that graduate school was one of the best periods of my life.<p>Results not typical (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8720640" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8720640</a>).  It&#x27;s surprising for me to read the author&#x27;s account and not find even the smallest tidbit of the adversity and nonsensical friction that plagued my friends and I when we were in grad school.<p>At least the author is at least partially aware of why they had a good experience:<p>&gt; I am privileged to have had a relatively supportive environment and few additional pressures. My experience is most likely to generalize for other computer science PhD students at top schools, where the funding situation tends to be good and advisors tend to give students a fair amount of freedom.