Colorado Technical University

How long would it take me to get three Doctoral degrees when I get older .?

I am graduating high school with an Associates, and I what to get my degrees in Physics, aerospace engineering and chemical engineering. I plan on taking classes during the summer and I'm sure that some of them intertwine.

Public Comments

1. mmm 3 degrees dammm!! unless you study all 3 of them at the same time 10-15 year tops
2. Usually, to earn a PhD, one has to do original research, write a dissertation and then defend the dissertation. Normally, this takes about four years, but can easily take longer. So, for three degrees, assuming you could actually get accepted for three programs, would take an awfully long time. Some of the material may overlap, but the program would still require to do the research and write/defend the dissertation. The question is, why would you need/want to have three PhD's? What are you going to do with three that you couldn't do with one?
3. It's not going to happen. I know on TV, having more than one PhD means someone is 'extra smart' but that's not how it really works. A single PhD in any of those subjects averages 7-8 years of graduate school (and they all require a major in the field to enter, so that would be three majors for the bachelors, which would take about 6 years as well) and more in postdocs if you want a job doing research, not to mention most schools won't even consider admitting you for a second PhD. No job requires more than one, and since it's such a huge time commitment, doing one and then trying to switch fields makes you look like you don't know what you want to do and can't commit. No, they don't offer summer classes for anything above the very intro levels of classes. You're supposed to spend summers in college interning to get into grad school, and in grad school, studying for quals and doing research. A PhD isn't about taking classes, it's about doing original, publishable research that establishes you as an expert in your field.
4. there really isn't much point beyond ego boosting. getting a doctorate is essentially proving that you can perform independant research and are capable of independant thought. You can demonstrate your qualifications in other fields through the research directions you choose for yourself after you have that degree. All you need is a good idea and a demonstrated plan to perform the research if you wish directed funding. You are a free man and once you have your Ph.D., it is just a question of showing you know enough about a subject to know what isn't known and what is useful to investigate, and what is needed to be done to investigate those issues or subjects that need investigation. If you simply want to demonstrate the advanced knowledge of a certain field with a piece of paper, then a masters is more than adequate in any of your secondary fields.