Is PhD in Business a super MBA?

sakky
Mon, 08 May 2006 20:41:54 +0000

Why not, theoritically it seems to have all the advantages.



Uh, no, it does not. Not at all.

First off, most doctoral students do not have access to the MBA career office resources, which tend to dedicated only to the MBA’s. That’s huge. Let’s face it. The MBA is about the most ‘mercenary’ degree there is - the only reason to get one is to get a job, which is why access to the career office is so crucial.

To give you an example, at MIT Sloan, only the MBA students have access to the website of the Career Development Office in which they can sign up for interviews with companies, submit resumes, and so forth. It’s not like you can just “borrow” somebody’s password, as it is linked to your resume. If you use John Doe’s password, and you’re Jim Smith, then your resume will not match your online biographical data, which would immediately arouse suspicion.

Secondly, and probably far more importantly, MBA programs are ultimately about networking. You build your network by participating in class projects and extracurricular activities with other MBA students, such that, 10 years later, you can call up your old MBA project teammate in order to cut a business deal. Doctoral students don’t get that, because they take separate classes apart from the MBA program and thus get very limited interaction with the MBA students.

So think of it from a social circle standpoint. As an MBA student, you will have a group of peers who will go on to a diverse group of careers - banking, consulting, technology, marketing, operations, and so forth. Not only that, but most of them will already have work experience in some of those fields. Hence, you can pull one of them over to ask “Hey, how is it to work in investment banking, really?” However, as a doctoral business student, your group of peers will largely (if not almost completely) be dedicated towards academia.

The point is, as a doctoral business student, your access to a strong professional network and to the career office will be greatly constrained. And that’s the real value of an MBA program - the network, and the career office.