scofield1990

I am an undergraduate civil engineering student and I want to get my Ph.D right after college.
But I heard from others that Ph.D in engineering give you less employment opportunities. I want to work in engineering firms and hopefully climb up the ladder into management positions.
Is a Ph.D really bad idea for me? I thought learning more about my field would make me an expert.

ele902

It's definitely harder to get a job with a PhD. If your goal is get up in management positions, why not an MBA? Getting an M.S. is good enough to be an expert in your field. A PhD is a research degree.

tetrahedr0n

Not really. The PhD might not justify the opportunity costs of going to school for 5-7 years, but it's not really harder in any way to get a job. That said,

This goal is totally unrelated to the purpose of a PhD, so just as the poster above suggests, an MS and especially an MBA are much more suitable.

juillet

You should get a PhD in engineering if you are interested in doing research and specifically leading a research team, either within or outside of academia. If you want to do management, you likely won't need a PhD unless it's within government (and even then, likely not) or it's for a research firm.

pseudoghost

No, no, no. Do not get a PhD in civil engineering. In engineering fields, work experience and professional licensing are MUCH more important than another academic credential. Especially considering that it takes usually 4-5 years of work experience to become professionally licensed. If you do a PhD, you will probably only delay your entry into the work force by 5-7 years, and enter into a field where a PhD is not necessarily rewarded. Think long and hard about this. Talk to employers before you make your decision.

Overall, I don't think the PhD meshes well with your goals either, if you want to get into management. A PhD is typically NOT a path to management. Most PhDs hit a glass ceiling overseeing research groups, and usually do not find themselves in more mainstream corporate management.

As for MBAs: There are lots of engineers who have MBAs, but nothing to show for it besides the degree. If you go for an MBA, make sure you go to a top-tier school, and that you have a plan to leverage the degree.

tetrahedr0n

This might be the case for civil engineers, but there are many engineering fields where the PE and any other kind of license is completely useless, and nobody does it.

spectastic

I think PhD in industry is only good for R&D positions. If you want to end up in management, MS is the highest you should go. There are also cases where you can go into industry first, and your employer might invest in you by paying for your MS. That's just somehting I've heard. I don't know how common it is; it probably isn't.