Seriously considering going back for a PhD... (Update: and now it's in motion)

Originally Posted by Bhowie

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HWta school + GPA cause if it aint Big1 or law or finance Id ont care and ur an idiuot

Originally Posted by JayJay

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Good idea, IMO, given your love for research and zeal for learning. I'd suggest the following:

- Go to the school that provides an accomplished faculty who are doing research in your areas of interest.

- Make sure that the school will provide you with full multi-year (3-4 years) funding (i.e., tuition, competitive stipend, and insurance). More funding may be available via grants ranging from internal grants for travel and research to federally funded grants.

- Make sure that faculty work with graduate students and share authorship with them on collaborate projects.

- As someone else posted, talk to current graduate students to hear what they say about the program, their quality of graduate student life, and the opportunities made available to them.

- Look at where recent graduates have been placed and the average completion rate for the program.

Take your time and find a school that seems to be the best fit for your interest and ambitions. Good luck!

Yeah, all good advice, been looking at pretty much most of those.

Originally Posted by kwiteaboy

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What do you want to do for a career once you've got the PhD? It probably makes more sense to figure that out first before deciding if you need the doctorate.

As a current PhD student, my vote for you is "no".

Originally Posted by philosophe

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JayJay's note makes a lot of sense. Programs in which everyone competes every year for fellowships are notoriously miserable.

Why are you interested in a PhD? Are you interested in an academic career?


Ideally I would like it to be something like 20% teaching 40% research 40% outside work/consulting/etc.

I've had enough exposure to academia, including on a graduate/phd level to have an understanding of how things work and to formulate a strategy for exactly what I would like to do/accomplish. Getting older, gaining perspective, and learning from your old mistakes is a *****, but it's also pretty ******* great - I am much more clear on what I want out of life and my career at this point.


Basically I am looking to set myself up for doing something enjoyable and productive for the next 40-50 years.

Also, it would have to be one of the top schools or nothing at all. My credentials are competitive, but you never know with 20-50 people competing for each spot . I have about 6 months to put a solid application together, and that's that.

Originally Posted by Flambeur

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Also, it would have to be one of the top schools or nothing at all.
The top school is defined by the reputation/quality of the faculty, and the one who ends up being your advisor.

Originally Posted by bishop491

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I have the feeling--and you probably should, too--that it's going to be like going through the BA/BS again
Nope, not at all... you'll see.

Good luck, bro. A PhD in business/finance/econ will attract lots of job offers from the private sector as well.

Originally Posted by JayJay

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The top school is defined by the reputation/quality of the faculty, and the one who ends up being your advisor.

What if the school had an amazing department in one of the sub-fields and the main guy who headed for a decade or two leaves/retires? Is the reputation gone or still some goodwill left at least?

Also I have a connection to a very good school, it's not my top choice even though it's one of the top world-class schools, but I am well-connected to the faculty there and communicate with them on a very regular basis. Should I push it a little with them and express my interests (they don't know that I want to do a PhD yet) ? Technically they would be the guys i go to for recommendations.

I know that academia is (or at least should be) driven by intellectual horsepower, but what is usually considered the top level of academics? Top 10 schools in the field? Top 10 global universities? Harvard/Oxford/Cambridge only?

What would really open all the doors a PhD can open? Also, what's more important after what JayJay mentioned, where you went to school or where you end up teaching?

MUST be a top school. Actually, I wouldn't even recommend that anyone consider a primary or elementary school program unless it's top 3. Not a single person that didn't go to a top school has ever had a good job.

I think what attracts me to academia is that I can wear "eccentric" outfits to the boardrooms and feel great about it..

Originally Posted by suited

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MUST be a top school. Actually, I wouldn't even recommend that anyone consider a primary or elementary school program unless it's top 3. Not a single person that didn't go to a top school has ever had a good job.

I'm sorry, my sarcasm meter just blew the **** up, was that you by any chance?

Originally Posted by Flambeur

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I know that academia is (or at least should be) driven by intellectual horsepower, but what is usually considered the top level of academics? Top 10 schools in the field? Top 10 global universities? Harvard/Oxford/Cambridge only?

What would really open all the doors a PhD can open? Also, what's more important after what JayJay mentioned, where you went to school or where you end up teaching?

I think what matters more is your research field and advisor. One of the running jokes in my department at college (an Ivy, top in this field) is that almost all of the phd grads aren't good enough to get a job at the school they get their phd from. I've heard the same at harvard as well, and for the most part, placement stats prove this. You could be at a decent school with amazing research and end up getting a tenure track job at a top school

Originally Posted by cchen

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I think what matters more is your research field and advisor. One of the running jokes in my department at college (an Ivy, top in this field) is that almost all of the phd grads aren't good enough to get a job at the school they get their phd from. I've heard the same at harvard as well, and for the most part, placement stats prove this. You could be at a decent school with amazing research and end up getting a tenure track job at a top school

Would you say the ability to put out top research is driven more by the individual or the department he/she is at?

I think it depends on the individual, just from anecdotal evidence. Maybe even some luck. And its really more than just intelligence. I know too many phd grads from top schools who are ridiculously smart but their research just doesn't cut it.

Cool, good stuff, thanks.

Originally Posted by Flambeur

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Would you say the ability to put out top research is driven more by the individual or the department he/she is at?

It is heavily dependent on the individual, but it also helps a lot to have a good adviser who you can bounce ideas around with. As I'm sure you know, putting out original, publishable research is a lot more difficult than writing a good paper as an undergrad. Sometimes just coming up with the idea itself is harder than writing the paper. This is where a good adviser can really help, especially if they're very familiar with the area you're working in.

Originally Posted by John152

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It is heavily dependent on the individual, but it also helps a lot to have a good adviser who you can bounce ideas around with. As I'm sure you know, putting out original, publishable research is a lot more difficult than writing a good paper as an undergrad. Sometimes just coming up with the idea itself is harder than writing the paper. This is where a good adviser can really help, especially if they're very familiar with the area you're working in.

Makes sense, it would help to have feedback from someone who really understand the body of knowledge and its direction for a particular discipline...