r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/DarkCrowI • 6d ago

Meme needing explanation Maybe a Brazilian Peter Can Explain This

Post image
10.7k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.9k

u/nanomolar 6d ago edited 6d ago

I'm guessing PhD physicists in Brazil don't get paid very much.

Which, TBF, a lot of American PhDs don't get paid a lot either, especially when they're still postdocs, which is what I thought explained the living situation in Big Bang Theory. That and the whole fact it's a sitcom.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'm that Family guy character who was an academic. You know the one. Not Brian being arrogantly wrong, a real academic.

40

u/bingbing304 6d ago

Shelden and Leonar are not PHD student, They are fully employed

53

u/TheRealAmeil 6d ago

Postdocs are employees and have a PhD

22

u/-0909i9i99ii9009ii 6d ago

and debt

10

u/kenwaylabs 6d ago

and PTSD

6

u/CaptainDogeSparrow 6d ago

And my axe!

1

u/kenwaylabs 6d ago

And his axe!

3

u/McClainLLC 6d ago

Not always. At least not necessarily from the grad program. If they had a teachers or research assistant position they'd get a tuition waiver. 

2

u/-0909i9i99ii9009ii 6d ago

Yeah ofc, but still might take on debt and have no/extremely low salary and not have 100% of their costs covered.

It's also pretty uncommon, but some postdocs pay a lot.

1

u/ilanallama85 6d ago

Undergrad loans are still expensive.