Einen Doktortitel anstreben vs. nach dem Bachelor ins Berufsleben einsteigen
Wenn du handelst
Eine Promotion verfolgen
25%
Wenn du nicht handelst
Nach dem Bachelor in die Wirtschaft einsteigen
32%
Anteil derer, die jede Entscheidung später bereuen. Balken und vollständige Datengrundlage erscheinen unten.
Karriere
Zuletzt überprüft 2026-05-13
Evidenzqualität 4.0/5
Bewertungsergebnis nach acht Dimensionen gemäß der
Qualitätsrubrik
. Jede Dimension wird mit 1–5 bewertet.
D1 Quellenüberprüfung
4/5
D2 Quellenautorität & Unabhängigkeit
4/5
D3 Genauigkeit der Bedauernsrate
2/5
D4 Vergleichbarkeit der Quellen
3/5
D5 Gilovich-Muster
5/5
D6 Prosaqualität
5/5
D7 Vollständigkeit der Einschränkungen
5/5
D8 Stichprobenqualität
4/5
Durchschnitt4.0/5
Stellvertretende Daten — für diese Entscheidung gibt es keine direkte Bedauernsstudie. Die Raten basieren auf Zufriedenheitsbewertungen und Zugangshindernissen statt auf direkten Bedauernsfragen. Siehe Vorbehalte unten.
Reue fürs Handeln
Eine Promotion verfolgen
25%
25 % der Promovierenden sind mit ihrer Entscheidung, zu promovieren, nicht zufrieden (75 % sind zufrieden; Nature-Umfrage 2019)
US-Promovierte, alle Fächer
retrospektiv, innerhalb von 5 Jahren nach Abschluss
Reue fürs Unterlassen
Nach dem Bachelor in die Wirtschaft einsteigen
32%
32 % der US-Erwachsenen mit mindestens einem Bachelor sagen, sie hätten im Rückblick mehr Bildung abgeschlossen (Federal Reserve SHED)
US-Beschäftigte mit Bachelorabschluss in forschungsnahen Fächern
retrospektiv, kein fester Zeitraum
% bereuen diese Entscheidung
Eine Promotion verfolgenNach dem Bachelor in die Wirtschaft einsteigen
25%32%
inaction dominates — Nichthandeln dominiert — die meisten bereuen, nicht gehandelt zu haben.
Verwandte Entscheidungen
Semantisch ähnliche Entscheidungen — gleiches Terrain, andere Abwägungen.
No survey asks PhD holders a clean “do you regret your doctorate” question, so both sides here rest on adjacent proxies. On the action side, Nature’s 2019 survey of more than 6,300 PhD students worldwide found that 75% were satisfied with their decision to pursue a PhD (and 71% with the experience overall) — leaving roughly a quarter who were not satisfied with the decision. PayScale’s separate survey of 248,000 US degree-holders adds broad context on degree regret: about two-thirds reported some college regret, with 27% naming student loans as their biggest misgiving. That survey’s public reporting does not break results out by degree level, so it says nothing PhD-specific. The 25% figure is the complement of the satisfaction rate, not a direct regret count, and it draws on current students rather than graduates years later.
On the inaction side, the Federal Reserve’s 2022 SHED survey found that 32% of US adults with at least a bachelor’s degree would have completed more education if they could decide again, while only 9% would have done less or skipped college entirely. That “more education” signal is broad graduate-education aspiration, not a PhD-specific wish: no survey isolates how many bachelor’s-only workers specifically regret not earning a doctorate. Gallup’s large education-decisions poll measured only field of study (36% would change it), institution (28%), and degree type (12% would obtain a different one), and explicitly did not ask about the amount or level of education.
Read together, the two proxies are close, with a slight edge toward wishing one had pursued more education (a -0.07 action-minus-inaction gap) — broadly consistent with Gilovich’s finding that inaction regret tends to dominate over the long run. The contrast should be treated as roughly comparable rather than precise, since the two figures come from different surveys measuring different constructs. Regret also varies sharply by field: STEM PhDs who move to industry frequently report high satisfaction and compensation, while humanities PhDs who could not secure tenure-track positions report considerably more. The doctoral choice remains consequential and hard to reverse — five to seven years of foregone income and career development cannot be recovered if the intended academic path does not materialise.
Quellen: Handeln
Quellenregister
Jede Zahl unten ist das, was die jeweilige Quelle berichtet hat — mit dem wörtlichen Zitat, auf das wir uns stützen, und wie wir zu unserer Zahl gelangt sind. Klicke auf einen Link, um direkt zu prüfen.
2/2 Quellen unabhängig wortwörtlich mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen
75% of PhD students were satisfied with their decision to pursue a PhD; the complementary 25% were not satisfied with the decision
Auszug
“"Overall, the results indicated that most PhD students were satisfied with their decision to pursue a PhD (75 percent) and were also generally satisfied with their PhD experience (71 percent)."
”
Quelldaten von
2019-11-13
Abgerufen
2026-06-30
Verifizierung
Der Auszug wurde bei unserer Grounding-Prüfung unabhängig erneut abgerufen und Wort für Wort mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen.
Berechnung
Nature's 2019 PhD survey (conducted with Shift Learning), over 6,300 PhD students worldwide. The report states 75% were satisfied with their decision to pursue a PhD; the action-regret rate of 0.25 is the direct complement of that decision- satisfaction figure. This is the closest direct affirmation-of- decision measure available; it surveys current PhD students, not a nationally representative US-graduate sample, so it is treated as a proxy (proxy_only: true).
[2]CBS News (reporting PayScale 2019 survey) — Two-thirds of American employees regret their college degrees
Verifiziert
Referenzquelle
PayScale 2019 survey of 248,000 US degree-holders: about two-thirds reported a college regret, with 27% citing student loans as their top misgiving
Auszug
“"In a PayScale survey of 248,000 respondents this past spring, two-thirds of employees report having regrets when it comes to their advanced degrees. About 27% of survey respondents listed student loans as their top misgiving."
”
Quelldaten von
2019-06-25
Abgerufen
2026-06-30
Verifizierung
Der Auszug wurde bei unserer Grounding-Prüfung unabhängig erneut abgerufen und Wort für Wort mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen.
Berechnung
PayScale "Biggest College Regrets" survey, 248,000 US respondents with at least a bachelor's degree (April-May 2019), as reported by CBS News. About two-thirds reported some college regret, with 27% citing student loans as their top misgiving. The CBS article breaks "no regret" responses down by field of study and by generation, not by degree level, and does not report a PhD- or doctorate-specific figure. Included as broad context on degree regret, not as the headline action rate.
Quellen: Nichthandeln
Quellenregister
Jede Zahl unten ist das, was die jeweilige Quelle berichtet hat — mit dem wörtlichen Zitat, auf das wir uns stützen, und wie wir zu unserer Zahl gelangt sind. Klicke auf einen Link, um direkt zu prüfen.
2/2 Quellen unabhängig wortwörtlich mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen
[1]Federal Reserve Board (SHED) — Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 — Higher Education and Student Loans
Verifiziert
↗ 1 other entry
Regierungsbericht
32% of those who completed at least a bachelor's degree would have completed more education in hindsight; only 9% of people who went to college would have completed less education or not gone at all
Auszug
“"32 percent of those who completed at least a bachelor's degree ... would have completed more education ... A far smaller 9 percent of people who went to college said that they would have completed less education or not gone to college if they could make their education decisions again."
”
Quelldaten von
2023-05-22
Abgerufen
2026-06-30
Verifizierung
Der Auszug wurde bei unserer Grounding-Prüfung unabhängig erneut abgerufen und Wort für Wort mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen.
Berechnung
Federal Reserve 2022 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), published May 2023. The 0.32 inaction- regret rate is the SHED finding that 32% of bachelor's-or-higher holders would have completed MORE education if they could decide again — the closest direct measure of "wish I had pursued more education." This is broad graduate-education aspiration, NOT a PhD-specific figure, so the entry is marked proxy_only: true.
[2]Gallup — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision
Verifiziert
↗ 3 other entries
Primärstudie
Of the three education decisions Gallup asked about, 36% of postsecondary-educated adults would change their field of study, 28% their institution, and 12% would obtain a different degree type
Auszug
“"Thirty-six percent of U.S. adults who pursued or completed a postsecondary degree would choose a different field of study. Significantly fewer (28%) would select a different institution, and just 12% would obtain a different degree type."
”
Quelldaten von
2017-06-01
Abgerufen
2026-06-30
Verifizierung
Der Auszug wurde bei unserer Grounding-Prüfung unabhängig erneut abgerufen und Wort für Wort mit der zitierten Quelle abgeglichen.
Berechnung
Gallup survey of 89,492 U.S. adults (June 29, 2016 – March 26, 2017). Gallup asked only about three decisions — field of study, institution, and degree type — and did NOT measure desire for more or higher education. The 12% "would obtain a different degree type" is the only graduate-credential-relevant figure and is included as context bounding the SHED "more education" signal; it is not itself a "wish I had done a PhD" rate. No survey directly measures regret over not pursuing a doctorate.
Einschränkungen
Neither rate is a direct "do you regret pursuing (or not pursuing) a PhD" survey, so this entry is published as proxy_only. The 25% action-regret figure is the complement of the 75% of PhD students who told Nature's 2019 survey they were satisfied with their decision to pursue a PhD; it surveys current doctoral students worldwide, not US graduates years later. PayScale's 248,000-respondent regret survey provides broad context: about two-thirds of US degree-holders reported some college regret, with 27% citing student loans; that survey's public reporting does not break results out by degree level, so it is not a doctorate-specific measure. The 32% inaction-regret figure is the Federal Reserve SHED finding that 32% of US adults with at least a bachelor's would have completed MORE education in hindsight -- a broad graduate-education aspiration measure, NOT specific to doctorates. No survey directly quantifies how many bachelor's- only workers wish they had earned a PhD; Gallup's education-decisions poll measured only field of study, institution, and degree type (12% would change degree type) and explicitly did not ask about the amount of education. Because both sides rest on adjacent proxies, the small action-minus-inaction gap (-0.07) should be read as "roughly comparable, with a slight edge to wishing one had done more education" rather than a precise contrast. Regret also varies sharply by field: STEM PhDs who move to industry frequently report high satisfaction, while humanities PhDs who could not secure tenure-track positions report more. The decision is consequential and hard to reverse: five to seven years of foregone income cannot be recovered if the intended academic path does not materialise.
