As an MBA graduate, I considered whether to obtain a more specialized degree or go for any job in the very tough job market. I thought about Ph.D. too. Here I lay out my thoughts based on experience and research I made for myself on this topic.
You can do a Ph.D. after MBA, but it is unnecessary for a solid career in business. Ph.D. after MBA may provide a valuable leverage tool for your scientific job if you want to go deeper into any field of science, including technical or social science.
In most instances, you obtaining a Ph.D. after MBA does not make sense. But in a few cases, Ph.D. after MBA may offer new opportunities. Let us analyze below when receiving a Ph.D. after MBA may make sense at all.
Is MBA higher than a Ph.D.?
MBA is a master’s degree, while a Ph.D. is a doctorate. Ph.D. is a higher degree than MBA. Therefore, some MBA students or graduates may decide to take their education to the next level and go into a Ph.D. program.
Does a Ph.D. guarantee a job?
Here are the negatives if you do Ph.D. after MBA. Having MBA and Ph.D. alone will not necessarily make you more employable. It may limit your employment options to a narrow field. Choose carefully. And being a Ph.D. means that you will be overqualified for most starting positions in the industry (with a caveat, read below).
Secondly, MBA and then Ph.D. on your CV may raise many flags if you decide to change your career or industry in the future. The sooner you want to change your career, the worse it will look. The question would be: “you did your MBA, then you did your Ph.D. after an MBA…do you know what you are doing?”
A ph.D. is not necessarily helpful for a career. Some people go for Ph.D. because they want to become professors teaching classes in universities. But professor jobs are scarce, and with lower college enrolments, it is becoming increasingly hard to find a teaching job. In short: YOU WILL NOT FIND A TENURED PROFESSOR JOB AFTER Ph.D. ANYMORE. Hopefully, I made that clear enough.
On the other hand, PhDs may be valued by different exiting or emerging educational institutions, including those private ones, providing online programs or courses.
In my humble opinion Ph.D. often should be pursued in the area in which you have a strong urge and desire to work for the next couple of decades doing research.
Because getting a Ph.D. is quite a pain, it takes years, and you will be grossly underpaid while doing it. I would also look at the demand for specialists in the respective field of your Ph.D.
Getting into a top Ph.D. university program is challenging. Often, they require terminal degrees like MSC, MA, MS rather than MBA. Therefore, instead of Ph.D. MBA graduates may go for a DBA and still get into corporate world management after that.
Still, PhDs can get a job in the industry because they have a solid reputation as research and analysts.
I suggest that if you decide to pursue Ph.D., make sure that your field of research is congruent with your previous MBA degree, other education, work, or relevant experience valuable to a potential employer. Congruency will bind everything together nicely, total leverage.
But read on to find out which Ph.D. I think it may be helpful in your career. Please do not take my word for it, as I believe the global economy is changing rapidly. Yet, I see some strong trends that are likely to continue for decades ahead, presenting some viable Ph.D. career options.
Note that academia is saturated, and even PhDs have a hard time finding academic jobs. Said that Ph.D. could take even a master’s level position or other senior position in the industry if his or her Ph.D. area is a good match.
If you decide to obtain Ph.D. after MBA, then I suggest choosing a topic that can have practical application in the industry for better transition and good pay.
There are many practical fields for Ph.D. after MBA.
Which Ph.D. after an MBA may be a good option?
Ph.D. is a heavily research-oriented degree. By researching, a Ph.D. student divulges very deep into the narrow topic, like in a rabbit hole, and becomes a super-expert in that topic.
Thus, selecting a Ph.D. topic for future employment is a significant decision for an MBA student. Because you already have spent 2-4 years getting an MBA degree. Now, what will 5-6 years of Ph.D. give you at this point?
I think Ph.D. is an excellent choice for those MBA’s who want to go into science. Ph.D. makes a person quite employable in science, especially if that science field is related to MBA or previous work or educational experience.
Note, when I say science, in addition to natural sciences, I also mean new types of science. That includes fields like data science, or AI or machine learning, social science.
If you check any major job site, it will tell you a complete story about whether it makes sense to get your Ph.D. after MBA. For example, MBA in finance, economics, or statistics from a reputable business school plus a Ph.D. in finance, economics, statistics, or mathematics may help you find an exciting position in one of the major league financial institutions, hedge funds, or banks. Why? Because these fields are practical rather than purely theoretical.
Ph.D. after MBA Specific Examples
If you are keen on coding and have some programming or engineering background, and as an MBA, you want to switch into a niche of machine learning or AI in business industries, you may get your Ph.D. in AI or machine learning. That still can get you hired in the financial sector if you want because the financial sector uses AI and machine learning a lot these days.
MBA in finance, economics, or accounting, coupled with a Ph.D. in AI or machine learning, may present you as a valuable candidate in the modern digital high-tech world of finance and the business field generally.
Recruiters are pretty mechanical sometimes. They see MBA on top of the relevant work experience and assume you can potentially hold a managerial position far from the truth.
Note that you will need a programming work background and a Ph.D. in those tech areas if you want to go this route. But salaries can be pretty lucrative – in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
If you type “Ph.D.” and “MBA” in a search field on any major job search engine (site), you will see that some positions show a preference for someone with an MBA and Ph.D. in some analytical or quantitative field.
You will see demand in some quite exotic narrow fields like revenue science or equity research, social science. Often positions require natural science or programming-related Ph.D., but there is a fair share of those require Ph.D. in either quantitative or business topics. Hence, let us see which type of Ph.D. is better for MBA students.
Does it help to obtain a business-related Ph.D. after MBA?
Obtaining a business-related Ph.D. after an MBA may provide some value for those who want to go deeper into research or teaching in the business area. For example, a Ph.D. in organizational behavior management may help you land a job in fields anywhere from social science to HR.
MBA + Ph.D. in economics or finance with quantitative aspect may land you an analytical or lead job in a significant financial institution or international organization. But note that PhDs in economics and finance maybe a little bit saturated in the job market.
Actuarial sciences or accounting fields also hire PhDs. Check your local job search engine for details.
I have heard that Ph.D. in accounting is a relatively undersaturated area, and companies are happy to hire accounting PhDs with accounting work experience. Underlying MBA in such a case may be an excellent background addition to a resume showing managerial ability.
I have also heard about companies hiring PhDs in Global Leadership and Change, for example. I am not sure what their practical managerial work background was, but it must have been extended for such a position. Ph.D. was likely just significant leverage on his or her CV.
Other areas of potential employment and thus Ph.D. research topics can include business development, business strategy, strategy management, competitive intelligence, and more.
If you have read some of my other blog posts related to business education, you probably noticed that I am a proponent of practical, specific, education which gives specific tangible skills.
That is why I am a proponent of going deeper into quantitative areas of education. Quantitative are very transferrable skills. Smart, introverted people with quantitative skills may have a better shot at a fascinating, well-paying analytical job.
Other avenues for MBA and Ph.D. holders
For example, have you heard of such an exotic path as quantitative marketing? Now you did. Marketing analytics can involve quite a bit of calculation and data mining. Ph.D. in quantitative marketing after MBA can land you a job in a financial, economics, or marketing type of position, just because of the quantitative aspect of that type of Ph.D.
Note that many quantitative Ph.D. programs in reputable institutions require quantitative background or education. For example, Ph.D. in finance may require a background MBA in finance, economics, or mathematics.
Did you know that social science is considered a STEM area? I found at least one position requiring a Ph.D. in social science with MBA.
The most important note is that you must LOVE the subject or broad field of your Ph.D. Otherwise, it does not make sense to pursue one because you will drop out anyway.
One major caveat for obtaining a Ph.D. after MBA is that employers quite often also want multi-year practical work experience in a related area. Therefore, seeking valuable work experience is a better strategy than obtaining a Ph.D. after MBA. But everything has its exceptions, especially for quantitative types of jobs.
Here is an excellent video by the Ph.D. professor about the pros and cons of doing a Ph.D. after an MBA.
How long to get a Ph.D. after an MBA?
On average, Ph.D. after an MBA takes 4-5 years to complete.
Conclusion.
If you want to obtain Ph.D. after MBA, then you need to think it through. I mean, you must be a thinker and researcher at this point. Check job sites, talk to your professors, other students. See what they say about potential opportunities for MBA/PhDs.
Would I do it? Probably not. Unless it would be a heavily quantitative area with potential practical industry application in finance or technology, if anything, I would instead go for a specialized MS in the subject area related to MBA or technology.
But that is only my 5 cents. Your goals may be different.