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I think this varies somewhat by field, but I promise you, in many fields essentially the only reason to get a PhD is for a career in academia. The idea of a som
by mikebenfield 9y ago
I think this varies somewhat by field, but I promise you, in many fields essentially the only reason to get a PhD is for a career in academia. The idea of a someone in graduate school not aspiring to become a professor still sounds odd to me.
And while I never had anyone outright lie to me or tell me job prospects were great, there were also few people who gave me a really clear picture of just how bad they were.
- Bjartr 9y agoDepending on field, private sector R&D positions can require PhDs
- steev 9y agoCertainly it varies by field, I don't know a whole lot of English PhDs in industry, but are a multitude of industry jobs require STEM PhDs (e.g, research positions, quant positions in finance, etc.). Whether you agree those positions should require a PhD is a separate argument.
- anon946 9y agoI'd say it varies more than somewhat, but rather a lot, by field (and maybe by school).
- spaceseaman 9y agoAnd even advisor - some have clear paths directly into industry jobs.
- lokimedes 9y agoI hope that part of being accepted into a PhD programme involves the ability to realize that there’s not much room at the top. Personally I loved my PhD experience even when I knew that the race to tenure was not for me. In many ways the reward of a science PhD on the jobmarket is large. At my current company we are treated as superstars among both engineers and management, and there is plenty of ways to make use of whatever lessons learned. (Disclosure: experimental particle physicist working in the European defense industry).
- ThePadawan 9y agoOn the other hand, there are fields where the opposite holds. A family member studied Social Sciences, and the non-academia job situation (in journalism, museums, etc.) is pretty much "PhD or bust".