Graduate School and Early Retirement

Several months ago I came across several articles and websites on early retirement when I was googling about retirement. It seems there is a trend to retire early. At first, there was the goal of having enough (or more than enough) assets by the time when one reaches retirement age (around 60). Then, some boasted that they saved enough money by 50 so they could retire before reaching the retirement age. Recently, though, some claim that they have enough asset that they can retire in their early 30s.

I have to confess, I was perplexed to see it. Early 30s? Then I quickly recalled what I was doing and still doing in my early 30s. Despite finishing a doctoral degree at a comparatively young age (28), my early 30s is still occupied by mostly career building. My financial situation has definitely improved since graduation, but there is no way I can retire in my early 30s. I barely started my career!

Photo by Sean Stratton

I know plenty of people who are still toiling in graduate school in their early 30s. For people in medical school and some humanity programs, it is rare for them to complete their degrees before age of 30. I am talking about the education system in US mostly. In Europe, one can get a PhD degree in 3 years, as compared to a minimum of 4 years in US. So this goal of extremely early retirement is not practical at all to many who are in or plan to attend graduate school.

Personally, I think the strategy to retire by early 30s is a smart idea. That means one would focus on career in his/her 20s. Then he/she could slow down and focus on raising a family in his/her 30s and later.

Nonetheless, the life of those who went to graduate school especially earned a doctoral degree seemed rather different. In their 20s they were in schools (many had limited financial resources to enjoy life fully). In their early 30s they just started their careers, and to some a family as well. To those people, their 30s was a rather demanding time period in their lives. As to save money, there was no guarantee that they could save more and faster after earning a graduate degree. Plenty of people cannot find a matching job after getting a higher degree.

Comparing these two pictures of lifestyles, one can’t help but pondering is it worth going to graduate school if they plan to retire early. If one simply wants to learn more knowledge, there is no doubt he/she should go for it. Our society needs scientists, philosophers, sociologist, and etc. But if one thinks of going to graduate school from pragmatic perspectives such as potential earnings, job availability, going to graduate school may cost you more than just money. It may even lower the quality of your life in a long term.