PhD or not? - Economics Harvard Professor

Opening paragraph from Greg Mankiw´s blog, a professor of economics at Harvard University.

A student wonders whether he should pursue a PhD in economics:

"Would you recommend someone to do a PhD if he knows he's unlikely to become a star in the field (weak math background due to lack of trainings and not being particularly gifted; lack of confidence in his creativity and talents) and does not have a burning desire to do research, but has interests in social science, enjoys learning, and likes to be able to interact with people he admires and respects? Or do you think it's better for him to work first until he's certain that research is what he wants to do?"

A PhD takes quite a bit more time and concerted effort than most graduate degrees. An MBA is two years, a JD is three years, while a PhD is often about five or six years.

Comments

[Der Chao Chen]

It's also an interesting question for those who want pursue an PhD in business administration/management, and other relevant fields.

For people who like to choose their doctoral program, I like to suggest them to refer explicit and implicit criteria proposed by Mitchell (2007).

Please don't forget the concerns about the financial funding and spiritual support.

Otherwise, one also need to address some "soft" or "untold" part of the doctoral studying, for example, how would you handle the unpredictable conflict between your supervisor and committee members? how and what kind of support you can have from your supervisor and/or other faculty?

Reference

Mitchell, A. 2007. The academic life: Realistic changes needed for business school students and faculty. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 6(2): 236-251.

[Der Chao Chen]

It's also an interesting question for those who want pursue an PhD in business administration/management, and other relevant fields.

For people who like to choose their doctoral program, I like to suggest them to refer explicit and implicit criteria proposed by Mitchell (2007).

Please don't forget the concerns about the financial funding and spiritual support.

Otherwise, one also need to address some "soft" or "untold" part of the doctoral studying, for example, how would you handle the unpredictable conflict between your supervisor and committee members? how and what kind of support you can have from your supervisor and/or other faculty?

Reference

Mitchell, A. 2007. The academic life: Realistic changes needed for business school students and faculty. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 6(2): 236-251.