Academia vs "the real world"

UnixGuy

I believe most of the members are here working in "the real world" (i.e. IT industry) and not in academia.

So what do you guys think of working in academia? would you go for a PhD ( 6+ yrs degree in the US) and teach at a reputable university of you get a chance to?

In terms of money, do University Proffs make more money in the long run ? In terms of challenge/fun/job satisfaction, which field is more interesting?

UnixGuy

erpadmin wrote: »

Unixguy, or perhaps others who might be considering a Ph.D, what is your opinion of this program?

Indiana State University: College of Technology: Ph.D. in Technology Management

You have to choose one specialization from the following:

Construction Management
Digital Communication Systems
HRD and Industrial Training
Manufacturing Systems
Quality Systems

Personally, I'm more inclined between Digital Communications Systems, followed by HRD and Industrial Training and then Quality Systems. The rest is a bit outside my scope.

Two things I liked about this program are that

A) They do prepare you for academia...folks are able to get into tenure-track positions with this Ph.D
You do not have to give up your day job to pursue this Ph.D

It has a residency requirement, but none of this quit work for a year nonsense. And it's geared to be done online when not in residence, from what I gathered. I'm not sure how long this program has been available, but I'm hoping that the initial information will be more streamlined by the time I'm done with my Master's. I'm also hoping that other B&Ms will offer similar product.

I welcome any opinion on this.

I looked up the ranking of the university and it doesn't look good, so be careful.


Don't put a lot of focus on the coursework, in PhD the course work is just 5-8 courses, and it's there to satisfy the depth and breadth requirements. The focus of the PhD is on the research that you will be doing. If you are interested in management/QA/HRD then MBA is your best bet. PhD is supposed to provide you with training to become a researcher, while MBA will provide you with training in topics like QA/HRD/Management. MBA from a highly ranked university will open a lot of doors.


IMHO, you might get into academia with this PhD (and with any PhD for that matter. You can also do PhD from UK/Australia/South Africa/Malaysia part time, and PhD in those countries ideally don't have coursework requirements), but the competition is tough, and academia doesn't really pay well so I'd be careful.

I prefer doing a PhD from the best possible university (ranking-wise and research-wise) full time if possible, and it takes 5-6 yrs in the US, but you will not pay anything, you will get paid a stipend and through RA/TA, but of course it will be less than what you make with a real full time job.