Im a masters student transitioning to phd, my application is in and its supposed to be a gaurteed switch, and ill have a nice fellowship package (26k a year, insurance, tuition waiver). I thought i wanted a job in academia but id prefer a job in industry as a scientist, and i wanted to get an MBA while getting my phd.
I am just starting to id be able to do it, I’m finishing my first year so if i start soon i can finish by the time i graduate which would be 4 years, i wanna do a 5 year phd to get the most papers i can. Anyone know if an MBA would help transition from academia to industry? I heard its a hard switch, so I wanna prepare for both paths, more so the industry path.
Some MBA programs offer a dual degree option that allows students to purse another degree while pursing the MBA. Usually students spend one year taking MBA courses and then the next pursuing courses for the other degree. A student must apply to each program for admission. It is more common for business schools to offer dual MBA/JD or MBA/MPH than a dual MBA/PhD program. Here’s an example of the dual programs at Tuck (Dartmouth): http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/academic-experience/joint-and-dual-degrees
@cbarrabi Many universities have graduate student consulting groups. That would be a way to get experience without getting an MBA. Usually the projects are shorter term - a few months long. Ask around at your university and get involved.
First of all, if you want to enter industry as a scientist, an MBA won’t necessarily help you do that. You can enter industry as a scientist with a PhD in that science field (or, in some cases, an MS). I made the transition from PhD to industry science and I do not have an MBA.
Second of all - you could probably technically do it, if you had support. There are some joint PhD/MBA programs I am sure, but since PhDs are so flexible, you could build in time to complete the MBA requirements into your program even if there was no formal PhD/MBA program. It’ll likely take you more than 5 years, though. If the program isn’t a formal joint program I would expect the MBA phase to take 2 years + 4-5 for the PhD itself - so 6-7 years.
The problem is that even though you could technically do it, I don’t think a lot of top-level PhD programs in most science fields would be enthusiastic about supporting that endeavor. Most PIs expect their PhD students to be all-in on the PhD, and doing an MBA full-time will take valuable time away from the research you need to do and the support you are supposed to be giving them. I think a lot of PIs would perceive you as less serious about science if you wanted to do an MBA during the program - rightly or wrongly.
However, I think that getting some business training - or even an MBA - is a good idea. There are other ways you can go about it.
If you are at a university with a business school, just take some business classes. Usually there are a limited number of classes open to non-MBA students, but as a PhD student you have a lot of latitude - if it’s not listed, just contact the professor of the course and ask if you can audit it.
Consider taking a leave of absence from your PhD program partway through to do an MBA. This might be tricky because most leaves are only a year long, but you may be able to make it happen.
Consider just getting an MBA after you finish the PhD. It’s not going to take you any more or less time, but you may find a job that’s willing to pay for it, and you can also be more choosy about where you get the MBA - meaning that just because you go to, say, UIUC for your PhD (which may have the best program in your field!) doesn’t mean you can’t go to Harvard or Yale for your MBA.
I think #1 is probably the best option, because I don’t think you need a full MBA to be competitive as an industry scientist. I only know a few industry scientists with MBAs; most of us just have an MS or PhD in the field we do research in.
Also, academia to industry isn’t necessarily a hard switch. It depends on your field, and the tradition of entering industry from that field. I don’t know how many physiologists go industry, although I bet there’s probably some level of need for them at biotech companies and health-focused companies (think like FitBit). But that doesn’t mean you’ll have a hard time going industry at all. Just make sure that you are tailoring your professionalization experiences to industry, and definitely do at least one internship in industry while you are in grad school. An internship can make all the difference, and lots of large companies take PhD students as interns over the summer to do research.