Me out military service? or ph.d in local univ?

[symaster]

please help me out! military service? or ph.d in local univ?

hello~ i just started my Masters in Physics.
and i have a problem.
AS A VICTIM OF Kim Jong-il(i live in S.Korea lol), i got to do my military service.
And I can think of only 2 options for now

1. keep studying here and finish my Ph.D. in Korea
(6yrs of domestic ph.d as a substitue for Military service)
and then do postdoc abroad.

2. finish MA only and do military service for 3yrs(maybe i can study at night)
and do ph.d abroad.

which is the best choice?

Am i just being chicken who tries to rely on school fame?
Or is it worth taking more time to do Ph.D. with better advisor?

my advisor(37) has a PRL paper cited about 80
and have one or two publication on science magazine.

Please help me out and criticize me.

 

[TMFKAN64]

Maybe it's just me, but if *I* had a choice between 6 years as a grad student in South Korea and 5 seconds in the military, I'd be a grad student. And I'm not Korean!

Unless you feel that you personally have to defend your homeland, I don't see why you would put off your studies for 3 years, even if you think that going to an American university later on would be more prestigious.

 

[Defennder]

Er your country allows you to substitute 6 yrs of PhD for the draft obligations? That's a godsend if you ask me.

 

[symaster]

Thanks lol TMFKAN64 and Defennder. Perhaps i have been obsessed with some kinda prejudice. Your words would be big help for me to make up my mind.

 

[Defennder]

Just to add on to this. I spent 2 years of my time fulfilling my country's draft obligations, and I hated every second of it. A military career (or even a stint as a conscript) is only for those who enjoy it. And I can say with confidence that a hell lot of people who went through it do not.

 

[atyy]

Do the military service if you are only staying on with this advisor only to avoid it (unless Korean military service is horrible on average). The only way to succeed in basic research is to do what you love. And don't choose advisors based on how many science articles they have (I can think of papers with 400 citations even though they are wrong). I did military service in Singapore, which thankfully is utterly peaceful. I learned a lot about how to do research from my military service. Of course, I had friends who did not have good officers and for whom the experience was not fruitful. (This is just my random view, of course.)

 

[daveyinaz]

There ain't nothing wrong with serving in the military, builds character plus it's an experience (bad or good)...also I don't think anyone of us can decide for you or tell you which is better, that's something you might have to seriously consider on your own.