<p>Is it a good idea to have a PhD instead of MBA?
Can Industrial Engineering undergrads get admitted to top-business doctorate programs?</p>
<p>Students interested in an MBA should not be interested in a PhD as they are very different degrees that teach different skills. Don’t even consider them to be related. A PhD is not an advanced MBA (a DBA is an advanced MBA) - they teach very different material and prepare you for different careers. With a PhD in OM, you’re highly limited to academia and companies that traditionally hire MBAs generally won’t consider a PhD.</p>
<p>In short, the biggest difference is that an MBA teaches you basic concepts but then emphasizes working in teams, communication skills, presentation skills, interaction, etc. to solve problems. These techniques are designed to get you to 90% of a solution on any given issue in a few hours. A PhD teaches you advanced techniques (optimization, game theory, control theory, empirical analysis, etc.) to get you that last 10% in a few years. A PhD student might take 1 or 2 (if any) MBA classes in her career but will probably take 10 to 20 IE or Math classes.</p>
<p>What is the best branch of business to study for being able to find jobs in academia?</p>