The PhD Experience

Question

Hey everyone, for any of you who obtained a PhD, or are currently working on obtaining one, what's the experience been like? What are your plans afterwards, i.e. academia, consulting?

brotherbear · Accepted Answer

I started a PhD in financial economics at one of the world's top universities and left with just a master's degree. I am obviously biased since I already made my decision to leave, but it's generally not worth it. It's significantly harder to make it to the top of academia than it is to make MD/Partner in a bank or fund. A PhD is first and foremost a research degree. It is meant to prepare the next generation of researchers in a field.

phdconsultant · Answer

Terrible idea. If you want to get your PhD because you love the topic you plan on studying, then go get a PhD. In no way way should a 5-year detour be a reasonable "gateway" to consulting.

If you want to get into consulting, go find a more direct way of getting into consulting. Ross has a decent track record for MBB and is not a bad option.

I recently read resumes for PhD candidates for MBB, and trust me, your odds of getting an interview are slim to begin with. As far as professorships, those might be harder to obtain than getting into MBB, and the pay sucks.

santajoeman · Answer

Engineering PhD student here and applying for consulting firms this fall.  You should really weigh your options before pursuing a PhD for these reasons:

(1) from my experience networking with MBB, 2nd tier, and boutique firms, the vast majority of hires are undergrads and MBA's.  In one anecdote, a first-year consultant with an undergrad degree in liberal arts told me he's never used excel before - this was from a 2nd-tier firm.

devildog2067 · Answer

nerdspeakI appreciate the input. But comment #1, while probably true for Ph.D. graduates overall, is hyperbole for graduates of top 10 programs--look at Stanford's placement record:

No, it's really not.

Think through the economics. The attrition rate for professors is absurdly low. Professors can work until they're quite old, they pretty much cannot get fired, they rarely quit. So new professors get hired only when a) enough growth has occurred to justify another position or b) someone dies. How frequently do you think that happens? How many positions do you think open up per year?

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The PhD Experience