Should I Get a PhD?

For years, I wrestled with the decision whether or not to get a PhD. It was not required for what I thought I wanted to be when I grew up, and it never felt necessary or natural. When I was finally in grad school, however, the question was unavoidable. Nearly everyone around me was tackling every stage of the process: they were preparing to take their qualifying exam (“quals”), finishing their Master’s degree, or churning along somewhere between 1 and 5 years into their dissertation research. Like them, I was now in the pipeline and needed to determine just how far I was willing to go.

There were countless factors I had to consider: the fact that it would never be easier to get a PhD than immediately after the Master’s, funding prospects, when I should take quals and whether or not I could pass them, and exactly what contribution to my field I would want to devote the next 5 years of my life to achieving. After much deliberation, I narrowed the decision to this: I would get a PhD if either A) I knew exactly what I wanted to do, or B) I had no idea at all what I wanted to do next. I did not satisfy either condition. I wanted to leave academia and see where it took me. Interestingly, it took me right back to this question many times over the next several years.

The first time I second-guessed my decision was when I began writing research and development proposals (mostly SBIRs and STTRs, which are small business grants from the government to spur innovation). They require a section describing the expertise of the team and inevitably we would list the Principal Investigator (PI) as someone who had a PhD. Usually, that person would then be responsible for the project if and when funding was awarded and act as the primary interface with the customer. Those are the types of roles that quickly build your career. If I was going to be bid as a PI, I would need to go back to school.

Tempting as this was, the reasons against it were mounting. My salary was approximately 3 times as much as my graduate stipend. I was living comfortably on my own in the city--going back to school would have upended the life I had been settling into. Even more impactful than the money was the chilling effect it would have on my business intelligence. The focus required to complete a PhD would have meant mostly, if not completely withdrawing from industry. In those 4-5 years, the professional world I had been building would move on without me. I would lose my growing network, the relationships I was beginning to develop with customers, and my awareness of technological trends, budgets, and upcoming opportunities. These hurdles were a bridge too far. Besides, I was starting to find my way into the roles I desired, without a PhD, and so it was hard to dwell when I was engaged and fulfilled.

The second time I doubted my decision I had taken my current job. It was never easier to go back: I was working next to campus, my work had tuition reimbursement programs which would have helped with the cost, and it would have been possible to maintain strong ties to the non-academic world by aligning my research with a sponsored project. My grasp on human factors engineering had grown so secure over the prior 5 years, I felt ready to pass quals. But as I thought about all this, I realized I was doing exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t need to go back to school to learn what I needed to learn to be successful. I could not recall a single time when my lack of PhD held me back. In fact, at this point it could have hurt my career. I had been enjoying working on a variety of projects, but had I gone back to school for another degree, there is a risk I would have been funneled into only those opportunities relevant to my research. And if I didn’t want to focus on what I would have earned my PhD for, then why invest so much in getting it?

There are many reasons to get a PhD, among them being the instant credibility it bestows and the wisdom you can gain only by completely immersing yourself for several years in a field of study. In contrast to my decision, I know several people who worked in industry, and then returned to school to successfully complete Doctoral programs. It may seem like a simple question--“Should I get a PhD?”--but it carries different meanings, for different people, at different stages of life. Personally, I’ve made up my mind (for now).

--Eric