Is Research Right for me? I am going to start college in a while and one of the programs I've applied for is a Bachelors in Technology followed by Masters in Science Program which is a consolidated program here and can be done in 5 years minimum and according to the statistics around 88% of the students manage to complete it in that time.
However I've always had Money as a major motivator over fame in the research field. I'd very well prefer having a Job at some Multi-National Company which is highly paying over being stuck with a PhD program afterwards. However with all of that said the program has a very high placement rate here with a Median salary comparable to other top non research courses.
I've applied for this course due to my childhood dream of finding something new or making a breakthrough but in Hindsight i don't feel I am well suited for research as I have never been able to stick to solving a problem for a while like I've read all these books and interviews by Top researchers who said they stuck with the problem for weeks and months and had this obsession since their childhood days but when I'm in a similar situation like when solving some questions and practicing my first instict after like some odd minutes of no progress is to look at the solution see how did they do it and then try doing it myself. I feel this will not be a good habit for research based studies.
I forgot to mention that the course is Computer Science based and the Masters programs offered are in Computational Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Engineering and Electronics and Communication Engineering.
I would like suggestions from people who've gone down similar paths or been at similar junctions of life.
You give a number of reasons why you don't want a PhD and one reason why you might want it: A chance of a higher income after graduation. Is there anything else? If not, I would rather look for other ways to earn more money. A PhD is not the sure-fire way to make money. And lacking intrinsic motivation, you will most likely struggle more than others, have a higher chance of dropping out than others, and perhaps need more time to graduate.
That said, your PhD program is starting only in a few years. Preferences and motivations change and that change is hard to predict. Why not enroll in a research-based course in your undergrad studies, and take stock after the BA to reflect back on what you enjoyed about it and what you struggled with.