Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I'm thinking about getting a PhD. I'd like to be taken more seriously as a "thinker," and do more interdisciplinary things (you know, aside from blogging). I'm just not sure what you get a PhD IN when that's your goal. Something too soft and it's useless; something too quantitative and you get pigeonholed. Any thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
A Ph.D? Ugh, why would you want to do that to yourself without a really good reason? It is certainly not a short, simple process. Perhaps you should consider a masters instead...
~Chase
get it in finglonging
I judge a man not by his title, but by actions. For example, George W Bush has a great title, President of the Free World, and I think the guy is thick in the head. On the other hand, I have a friend from high school who goes to a community college and works at a gas station convenience store who I think is brilliant. If you want people to think of you more as a thinker, then all you need to do is educate yourself and think before you speak. You don't need a title. Besides, I don't think a guy whose nickname is Google has to worry about people not believing that he is a thinker.
Ha! I love Rick Blaine's comment. It reminds me very much of the realization the Scarecrow has in The Wizard of Oz: He didn't actually need a diploma - The knowledge was there all along. ;)
~Chase
My thinking is it might open some doors, and the education and experience could be quite valuable as well. It'd have to be the right program, something interdisciplinary that requires creativity and isn't too technical but isn't too soft either. I think I'd enjoy it, and it might help me have a bigger positive impact.
And, sadly, if I wanted to participate in a national discussion of issues, the credential would help a lot.
You know that I'm all about you doing this, but perhaps if I put my reasoning in writing:
As I told you, my biggest fear for you is that you have hundreds of good ideas throughout your lifetime and no one ever listens to or implements a single one. Why not? Because in order to have an idea taking seriously, you either must have credibility or salesmanship. Doesn't really matter how objectively good an idea is if you don't have one of these. Now, I know you don't like to sell, so the next best option is to build credibility through academic merit. With a Ph.D from a top school, you will be able to command respect at a much greater level, thus ensuring that your excellent ideas do not go unheard.
Within Ph.D programs, I would consider something within public policy/legal studies/business ethics/management. Quite frankly, I think it matters less which specific department and more which professors are working on problems that interest you. I would conduct your search around identifying what you want to learn, then looking for these professors, rather than looking at programs at the broad sense. In general, I think some of your best insights have been in incentives, conflicts of interest, and the quantitative measures of these historically qualitative concepts.
Look forward to seeing you when I get back man.
Speaking as someone who left America to get a PhD...I say get a Masters first. It gives you a taste of what it's like to be a graduate student, without devoting six years of your life to it. Just think: at least half a decade of your life at minimum wage and (at least in the case of the sciences) at the beck and call of a possibly insane advisor. A guy in my boyfriend's lab just graduated after *eight* years of grad school. His fiancée apparently is happy.
That said, it's pretty awesome to get paid to be a student! A European PhD is only three years, whee!
You should definitely do it. You'll love the work...pedantic, yet practical. Plus, undergrads have to do what you tell them.
Also, I agree with the comment left by Lord Henry. A PhD will help you to influence policy in a way that I think you will enjoy long term.
--Princess Lolly
Post a Comment