Question for those with PhDs who work outside of academia (and those work inside too)

[LiquidMidnight]

Hey all,

I'm currently a doctoral candidate in a multi-disciplinary social science program. My career goal is to work in organizational development. I'm not opposed to working in academia, but if I do, I think I'd like to adjunct on the side. I do love research, so at least having access to an IRB and legitimacy of a university for peer-review publishing would be great. Either way, I'm not planning on trying to land a tenured track position at a Research One institution.

I'm currently considering dissertation topics. There are a number of topics I'd love to research, some of them related to my eventual career goals and some of them not quite. My original plan was to go in the direction of research I went with my Master's thesis. I thought I had it all figured out when I seeked admissions. But I'm being exposed to all new kinds of ideas and potential areas of research that I'm digging.

My question is how important was your dissertation to your day job? Is your dissertation topic related to the work you do? Was your employer interested in your disertation? For social science people, was it important if your work was more quantitative or qualitative? People in academia, how important was your dissertation to being selected at your institution? What type of institution do you work at? Research One? Private liberal arts college? Community college?

[fdeck]

I got a PhD in physics, in 1993. Since then, I've worked in industry except for a one semester stint as an adjunct at my friendly neighborhood Big Ten university, more than a decade ago.

Since finishing grad school, my work has been unrelated to my dissertation. Today, I'm an engineering manager at a company that makes scientific instruments. I also engage in systems engineering, and technology development.

I gained a number of technical skills that have helped me along in my career. But perhaps more importantly, I learned a discipline of conducting research from my advisor that took me a while to "get," but which has definitely propelled my career forward.

[Atoz]

I have my Ph.D. in Physical/Analytical Chemistry. Like fdeck, my dissertation has absolutely zero to do with my current job (civilian Physical Scientist, US Army). My personal experience (limited to colleagues in science fields, mind you) has been that dissertation topics are rarely relevant to (non-academic) career jobs.

[Musiclogic]

Agreed with above, my PhD is Philosophy, Modern Human was my emphasis and it has zero meaning in the real world. If you plan your life around Academia then your dissertation can be a driving factor, as academia is generally a theoretical mindset rarely seeing beyond their imagined utopia, and being defined by their perceived scope of open thought. If you plan to work in the real world, you need to concentrate on your ethic and ability to preform work in your chosen position. This will drive your career and open the larger doors, dissertation means little to the real world doers, and everything to the theoretical ivy dweller. Good luck

[LiquidMidnight]

Thanks for all of the replies! I figured that the dissertation was something that was less important outside of work in academia. Still, I'd like to do a good and interesting dissertation.

You make a lot of sense, Musiclogic, even if you don't sound like you dig the academics. I'd like to do an internship while I'm writing my dissertation if possible to get more of that real world experience in the field I want to go into.

[fdeck]

A simple explanation: If you want to be a professor, you're expected to develop your own research program. This has to happen while you're in grad school, or shortly thereafter, so it's likely to grow out of your dissertation research. This could also be the case if you go straight into some sort of entrepreneurship. I have a friend who got a PhD with the intention of turning her research into a consulting business. Well, that was her plan, but instead, she got a public policy management job.

Outside academia, or in non-tenure-track research jobs, you're more likely to start out working on someone else's project, related to their interests. For instance, my employer makes spectrometers, so my first project was... drum roll... a spectrometer. Coming up with your own idea for a new product typically happens after you're established in a company.

Another thing to note: You can never predict what's going to be out there when you graduate, and a lot of PhD's simply follow the available jobs or their own opportunism.

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

...academia is generally a theoretical mindset rarely seeing beyond their imagined utopia, and being defined by their perceived scope of open thought. ... Good luck

nicely put. very nicely put. way to use that philosophy degree!

i am very not an academic, but i was married to one for 20 yrs. from the sidelines, here is what i observed. her dissertation was very much theoretical and utopian and radical in her field (education). she is a qualitative social scientist. when she went looking for an academic position, it seemed to me that her success/failure was based on being a "good fit," inter-departmental politics, timing, and who you know.

from within her discipline, her dissertation is not really related to her teaching, but her research agenda is still similar to her original interests, but focused more on subjects that will get grants.

i would think that your dissertation is your last chance to be truly free to follow your bliss and research what turns you on. once you are getting paid, i believe you have to think more about acceptance and funding and things like that.