the motivation to be a PhD..

One friend of mine told me that he wanted to become a PhD..

He asked me many things included the registration procedure, how to choose the topic and supervisor, etc etc..
Okay. then I answered him honestly, I told him all that I know, until he felt that it was enough.

While I was answering him.. it reminded me back to myself when I want to apply the PhD.. I reviewed back into my motivation.. my curiousity.. my thought.. before I applied here.. and after I got accepted here..

Some people think that become a PhD is very good!! They just think that it's a worthy thing: gettin degree, no need to pay a single cent, but get paid at the same time, what you need to do is just do a "little" lab work, "attend some courses like the undergrad life", and "get the good score". Well.. so? seems like PhD is a veryy nice offer.

So.. after he finished his questions, it was time for me to ask some questions back.
Just wanted to know what inside his mind, what was his actual motivation.
And the questions were....
1. Do you "really" prepare to do a research for four years?
2. Answer truthfully, do you just chase the "stipend" or not?

-end-