<p>Does it matter what you get your PhD in? </p>
<p>I know this is an old question, but I’m betting there are CCers with experience or have heard plenty of life-stories in this context.</p>
<p>More specific question: I know what I do during PhD training is what truly matter, but I can’t help to hear and consider that the actual degree would make a difference in getting a non-academic job? In the same time, I heard where you get the degree from also make a difference for both types of job, but let’s ignore that for now. </p>
<p>My background: bachelor in biomedical engineering and currently in an umbrella program. My PhD thesis will most likely be very interdisciplinary (e.g. combination of 2 or more: mathematical modeling, imaging, wet labs, optics tech development). Sorry, if this is ambiguous. My options is to have PhD in BME, Bio, Chem or slight variations of those fields.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? To start off the discussion, I’ll blabber more random subtopics:
jobs not related or tangential to PhD thesis, postdoct prospect, getting interview at companies without any prior connection/network, salary, funding, future teaching. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your major matters. Your topic matters more. For example, I see plenty of EE graduates taking faculty positions in CS. That’s because what they want to do for research is more suited for CS dept. So, as far as the name of the degree, I’d say it’s a non issue.</p>
<p>Regarding job prospect: The school name matters. Your advisor matters more. In essence, both types of jobs (academia and industry) require connection, especially if you are looking at the prestigious ones. I’ve talked to a few professors about this and they all seem to agree.</p>
<p>Is this also the same in the social sciences and the humanities? (assuming someone wants a nonacademic career?)</p>
<p>BS in EE and PhD in CS sounds good - I’m sure everyone would agree.</p>
<p>I am guessing it would be the same for people with BS in ENGR/CS/Math/Physics and PhD in BME or Bio, because then it is somewhat obvious that they have sufficient background in engineering, math, or physics. </p>
<p>My situation is not quite as extreme as the scenario below, but in order to illustrate the question I originally intended to ask:
A person with BS in Biology and PhD in Bio (let’s say this person actually does ‘some’ quantitative work that is not trivial, but just happened to join a lab affiliated with Bio; thus getting a PhD in Biology). Would this person be as competitive as the person with a traditional engineering or math/physics degree? Obviously it would depend on the job they’re applying and what they actually do during their PhD training (pubs, labs, networking, etc). </p>
<p>So my Q is: Among those who did average in grad school, does the degree give a significant edge in getting a job?
I hope the answer is no, but if it is YES, then I would rather take more classes to get PhD in X.
Anyone who has been in the situation, please help :)</p>
<p>As for the social sciences, tenisghs, I had a professor in undergrad tell me something I found to be very true: your degree/major doesn’t determine the questions you ask. It just determines how you answer them. There are people in many different fields investigating the same thing - for example, I’m in public health - which is a very interdisciplinary field - but I’m a psychologist by training (my undergrad degree is in it and I’m in a joint program in both departments) and therefore I take a social psychological approach to my research in the field. I use social psychological methods and analyze the answers in the ways a psychologist would. A sociologist would likely take a different approach, as would an anthropologist or political scientist. And indeed, we have many of these people in my department, and they all take different strategies towards similar goals.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to the PhD question per se, but I’ve talked to some career counselors and PhD holders who work outside of academia about it (my goal is also outside academia I think) and what they generally say is the degree can sometimes hurt you, sometimes help you, but it depends a lot on the job that you’re applying for, their inherent value for PhD holders and how you spin your job application and the value of your studies, as well as what you did with the PhD. The other thing is that there is no “average” in grad school. A person with a biology PhD who maybe has some pubs in engineering journals and did a rotation with an engineering researcher, or did an internship in an engineering research lab or firm, has great prospects. Your typical biologist with some quant knowledge who can write a compelling application (cover letter, whatever) tying his or her lab work to the engineering firms’ desires and needs can have good prospects, too. The PhD alone is not going to get you anywhere, and at some places can have you labeled with the stereotype of an insufferable egghead who is caught up in the ivory tower and doesn’t know much about the ‘real world’. You have to show them that your training is invaluable to them.</p>