Has a PhD been of benefit to your career?

[slipperandpjsmum]

If you have undertaken a PhD what area of work are you in?

Has it been of benefit to your career development?

How much time did you need to put aside each week to get through it?

thanks

I have a PhD in biochemistry, it has been TERRIBLE for my career.

Saying that, i did my PhD and then had a baby, had four years off and struggling to get back into a field that is struggling! I'd do it again though - best four years of my life.

Because my PhD was lab based it was a full time job for three years, i then had my baby and wrote the thing up in about 10 weeks. (That was the worst ten weeks of my life NOT to be recommended if you like sleeping!). So i guess it depends what area yours is in. Are you doing this over three years? I can't imagine it being anything other than full time tbh.

When i say it has been terrible for my career, it has made it nigh on impossible to get people other than science based jobs to take me seriously as i am over qualified but under experienced, iyswim. I have had a long career break though so maybe someoen who has gone to work straight after would be better to ask. Many of my friends with PhDs have not used them though. Some have, most are not bench scientists anymore.

Higher education management. Did a PhD (in a technical subject) then two years of post-doctoral research before deciding to change career.

I think it's been very helpful. I learnt to: tackle long-term problems; work through difficulties; teach students; manage upwards and talk to senior colleagues; manage my own time and expectations; network at conferences; deal with being a woman in a male-dominated field; improve my programming, analytical and communication skills; cope with failure; understand my strengths and weaknesses better. Some of this I might have learnt through a job instead, but I would probably not be as self-reliant or self-aware.

For my career development, I think that I am taken a bit more seriously by my academic colleagues than if I just had a bachelor or master's degree. It definitely means that I understand their perspective on issues such as research funding and performance management much better, and this helps me when trying to persuade them into a course of action. I certainly didn't start the PhD intending to follow this career path, but I am very happy with how things have turned out.

I worked full-time on the PhD but combined it with teaching during terms. I think how long you need depends a lot on the topic. If it's lab based then it might involve long hours, if mathematics then you need shorter but very focused sessions, if archaeology then you may need to work on a dig, and so on.

Over the past few years I have looked through hundreds of CVs for admin roles, some of which come from PhD candidates. What I would say is that you can't expect to get a higher level of role simply because you have the PhD, but instead have to demonstrate very clearly that you have developed high-quality transferable skills as a result of doing it. Unless you are applying for an academic role, experience and skills are more important than qualifications and research papers. Doing a PhD should give the opportunity to improve a wide variety of skills, but you need to be able to show that you have made the most of that opportunity.

My PhD was science based. When I started my studies I was already working in a clinical job full time. My PhD was part-time and over 6 years. For the first 3 years I conducted lab research at weekends (due to clinical equipment availability) and then analysed my data in the evenings. I then went on mat leave for a year and due to circumstances (3 babies) I decided to leave my job. I continued my PhD for the next 2 years on a part-time basis with babies to look after during the day and evenings data processing and writing up my thesis. I also paid for one afternoon a week of childcare to give me some extra daytime for studying. I was remote from my uni aswell having moved when on mat leave so had my tutorials with supervisors in the evening via skype link. I guess I put in about 20-30 hours a week when fully focused and maybe less when I had sickly children with sleepless nights. I had a major advantage that hubby was fully supportive of my studies and I had the funds (from working/savaing) to self-fund to the end. I completed my PhD after 5.5yrs P/T. Since graduating last year I have secured another F/T job in my clinical field. I don't get any extra salary as such but I have progressed quicker than my peers. I receive respect from my multidisciplinary colleagues as I have a PhD and have been given some new and exciting opportunities too. Unless you wish to progress in academia I don't think a PhD will provide a big salary and great job on that alone. I think it should be undertaken for your own self-satisfaction as it will require a great deal of dedication with many ups and downs along the way. I don't regret studying for my PhD at all and feel very proud to have earned it.