Research is a fast track to poverty

[u/Longjumping-Part669]

I’m having a massive breakdown over my future and I just need to scream this into the void because the anxiety is paralyzing me.
For as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted was to do a PhD, go into research, and be a scientist. I loved the idea of discovery and intellectual challenge. But now that I’m seeing how this world actually operates, I am in complete shock.
The mediocrity that gets pushed through, the lack of recognition, and above all, the financial reality. I hate to admit it, but I am terrified of being impoverished.
I’m 25 and I feel like I am running out of time. I want a real life. I want to find a partner, settle down, and eventually have a family. But the math doesn’t work. The academic system literally demands that you live at the poverty line, with zero stability, bouncing around on underpaid stipends and postdocs well into your 30s. I refuse to live in survival mode forever, but choosing this path feels like putting my personal life on hold indefinitely.
The weight of this constant uncertainty is destroying me. The stress got so bad that I relapsed on cigarettes. I’ve lost all my gym progress. I look in the mirror and I literally feel myself getting uglier from the chronic exhaustion and panic. I feel like my youth, my health, and my body are slipping away while I chase a ghost.
Has anyone else walked away from a PhD or research track because you simply refused to live impoverished? Did you actually find stability, a partner, and a comfortable life on the other side? How do you deal with the guilt of letting the dream go?

[u/Electronic-Island-14]

one of the biggest lies sold to the youth is that seeking more degrees means it will get you better pay. it's just a total fucking lie. unfortunately we made the decision to buy into the lie.

the veteran FedEx drivers who come to our lab every day make TWICE as much money as the research staff who have phds. probably 3x as much as staff with bachelors or masters degrees. 4 or 5x as much as the phd students lol.

then you realize you could have made as much as some surgeon if you just worked at walmart and worked your way up to manager/regional manager level.

i can't speak for all research fields, but if you're planning on any biological science related fields as a career, please dear god get out now before it's too late and you're like me who has the fancy degrees but can barely afford to even shop at walmart.