Ph.D Employment?

Dr. Nik asks: "As a recent Ph.D graduate in EE, I am curious to know where other Ph.Ds are employed. More specifically, I would be interested in knowing if you have moved into careers other than academic. Have you veered from the path? Are you still working in the field, or have you completely changed direction?" A couple of months ago, Slashdot was polled for PhDs in IT. How well do other areas of the workforce compare when it comes to hiring Doctorates?

Comments

Go back and get an MBA

[foniksonik]

Go back to school and get an MBA as well... should only take you 3 years... then you can a) have an awesome number of jobs to pick from or b) start your own company and do what you really want to do.

Having an MBA and a PhD in EE will guarantee you plenty of funding for any idea you have. VCs and Traditional lenders will be knocking down your door to give you money.

My doctorate is in Mechanical Engineering

[NVH Engr]

I have never worked in academia and have never seriously considered it, other than as a part time adjunct faculty member. Industry has a strong need for PhD's; you have to look hard and be somewhat creative to find the opportunities but they are there.

Earlier?

[Anonymous Coward]

>> As a recent PhD graduate in EE, I am curious to know where other PhDs are employed

Uh...shouldn't you have thought about this a couple years ago?

Re:Earlier?

[PylonHead]

They're just a different type of person than you are. They're not as motivated by money or status. They're motivated by an opportunity to really understand some small part of the world. To have the chance to learn everything everyone else has ever writting about this small thing, and then advance the knowledge of it in a small (or large) way.

Makes no sense to you, or to most people for that matter. Probably good that there are people out there like this.

What's Your Background?

[David Greene]

This seems like an odd question to me. You must have some idea of what you do and don't like to do. You just spent five or more years working on a major research project. What did it involve? Are you still interested in the area? Are there branches off the research you'd like to pursue?

At the end of my degree I had come to the conclusion that academia wasn't for me. Too many long hours with all the ridiculous politics of every workplace. So I joined the industrial workforce and am quite happy working in the general area of my research. But you'll find that wherever you go, it won't be exactly the same thing you've been working on. Nor should it be.

My degree enabled me to pick exactly the kind of job I wanted. I felt completely comfortable turning jobs down if they weren't what I was looking for. Because no matter what else, the fact that you finished a Ph.D. is a big plus in your portfolio when it comes to reliability and dedication.

There are plenty of EE/CS companies looking for Ph.D.'s. But don't go looking on Monster. Talk to your advisor and get "ins" where you need them. That's how it works. No one in H.R. has any idea what you did or how it applies to the company you may be looking at. Get a technical contact and pursue it.

! job

[drDugan]

do not sell your mind. go do your own thing.

if you have a phd in engineering... stop. relax, take 6 months and THINK about what you want to do with the next 30 years of your life. Think really big. Got that? OK next take another 6 months and create a 5-year plan to make the first step of the 30-year plan work. then go do it. When it's done, repeat (but this time use 25, not 30)

Trust yourself. your ideas will be just as good as anyone else's, probably better. DO NOT go look for a job. you will be very disappointed.

in my case I worked 2 years, then 1 more, then started the above plan and I've never had a "job" since.