<p>Especially if you have more than one fields of interest...?</p>
<p>I know people who've done or are in the process of doing two PhDs in very different fields (e.g. mechanical engineering and history.) They're universally miserable because they chose the wrong field career to go into but they still want to try for an academic career and are willing to be spouseless, kidless, and living off a 25k stipend as forty year olds. So yeah, I would say it's pretty damn useless and probably not realistic for the vast majority of people who don't want to slave away at school for forty years of their lives. (and then some if seeking tenure, which for older PhD students could come as late as after one turns 50, if it comes at all.)</p>
<p>But let's say you do work as a researcher after your first PhD, and then you want to research in some new field... that would require you a PhD right?</p>
<p>it depends on what you mean by "want to research" and "new field"</p>
<p>you can get entry-level research positions in just about any field, and they'll take into consideration any previous experience you may have. and as for "new field," how new would it actually be?</p>
<p>i've gone through a handful of job titles... i graduated from university with a BS and MS in chemistry, worked 2 years in a cell biology lab simultaneous with a structural biology lab, am going for a PhD in pharmacology, and call myself a biochemist. lots of different names, but basically all the same thing.</p>
<p>I suggest you learn about the two fields from people who know about them the most (professors.) Right now your questions are too broad. What do you mean "work as a researcher after your first PhD"? Do you mean working as a postdoc after getting your PhD? Getting an academic job? Working for a private research corporation? The government? What? And no, you don't HAVE to have a PhD in something in order to do research on it. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School District has a huge educational research office and the research opportunities there are, as far as I know, mostly meant for predoctoral students (people who DON'T have a PhD)</p>
<p>The most realistic example I could think of right now are interdisciplinary studies, e.g. I get an academic job and meanwhile research in some project (any, gov't, private, think tank) to see the crossovers between two unrelated fields.
I could get a PhD in Economics and teach something like Development Economics, but I [by myself] would also like to research new biotechnological methods to improve development in certain places.
Of course one option would be contacting a person who already has a PhD in Biotechnology and work together... but what if I want to do that as well?</p>
<p>But otherwise, in general, let's say that they are completely unrelated: what if I want to be a Professor of both Geology and International Relations at my university; or Divinity and Evolutionary Biology; etc.?</p>
<p>There are always joint research projects between departments to bring in different points of view. Economists often work closely with engineers in such groups, such as the One Laptop Per Child Project and other humanitarian aid ventures. There's nothing to say that you can't create a biotech solution, then work out the economics yourself and teach about your process. Conversely, you could create an economic model for encouraging growth, then suggest technologies that work within the framework of your model. You don't need a 2nd degree to do this. </p>
<p>As for your second example, geology and international relations can be combined jointly as a geography degree - which studies how land shapes people and vice versa - or just a plain Poli sci degree with a focus on resource competition. Now divinity and evolutionary biology...I guess some divinity school might have something on meshing science with what their particular religious texts say, but you'd be laughed out of any respectable scientific institution though the Discovery Institute might take you in, if you were willing to badmouth science. Not really sure what you're trying to do with a grad degree in those two fields. If you're trying to write a book, you certainly don't need a degree to do it.</p>
<p>I think you really need to figure out what you enjoy doing. There's not enough time in the day to go around curing cancer and trying to create new schools of economics.</p>
<p>ditti merper68</p>
<p>moreover, OP you speak of getting a second PhD WHILE you get an academic job in your first field.</p>
<p>allow me to laugh. HAHAHAHAHA.</p>
<p>you clearly don't understand or appreciate the sweat and tears that go into being an assistant professor. plus, your home department will never allow you to continue being a grad student and if you try to hide it from them, they will wreck your academic career.</p>
<p>Well, those were just random examples to say how unrelated to each other my interests can be. :P</p>
<p>But even in the [more realistic] example of Biotech and Economics, the fact that I can only "suggest" a technology somehow doesn't suit me. I want to know the in-depth processes of the other field in order to make best use of the synergy. I know it sounds a lot like the story of a 50-year-old virgin, but for the moment I'm just asking whether it's possible to do so.</p>
<p>What if I liked to teach Astronomy and International Relations, not just for the sake of finding interdisciplinary applications, but simply because I enjoy both subjects?</p>
<p>I'm currently completing my undergraduate degree in Economics and Management. Although I really like it and do it quite spontaneously, am involved in numerous extra-curricular projects that are relevant to the field, I'm somehow put off by the idea that I will only create economic models for the rest of my life... I will certainly not enjoy that.</p>
<p>My alternative "idea" would be to try my luck at Investment Banking and hope I can get out early so that I have enough money to study/teach/research any other field I like... be it Astronomy, Robotics engineering, or - why not - even Medicine!
I know that's a dream... but who knows.</p>
<p>It does....happen but in very rare cases and those are usuallly very ambitious people who have no life or at least don't care about having a great quality of life for another 10 years. </p>
<p>But you MUST choose ONE field because those graduate schools are putting in a lot of time, energy, and money in you to get that PhD and an academic-related job afterwards. The last thing you want to do is to completely blow off (though it DOES happen) on them and make them completely regret their decision about accepting and keeping you in the program... the world of academia is very small, very small.... (which is why I'm not choosing to make the professor I dont' love into a personal enemy as he's in my field and the last thing I want for him to ruin my chances of getting in grad schools). Things get around faster than you think in this tight network of academics.</p>
<p>As some said, graduate schools simply want you to have a narrow interest so that you might use it as your dissertation topic- no way would they let a history PhD student to write a history of the US for a dissertation topic. The only reason why it seems like professors can write about anything they want to is because they're supposed to "update" their knowledge and apply their approaches and ideas to the larger picture. So if I read two books on the history of the Great Depression with a critical eye, I'm going to see two different narratives and styles and a certain bent on the writer's interest (like economics or politics). Usually, they'll end up exploring different ideas within their broad area as astrina did for her jobs... she's just simply a biochemist. For example, I worked with two historians at a museum with similar broad interest in the Nazi regime (their specific interests are very different- medicine and the SS police respectively) but often teach the Holocaust as a whole while only offering their specialities when needed. They're just Holocaust historians by definition but within the academic circles, people know them better as experts in the structures of the Nazi regime. For me? I begin with History--> 20th century --> United States--> the Jewish population or History--> 20th Century--> Europe --> Soviet Union --> Stalin --> Jewish population... you see?</p>
<p>So first, pick a broad interest, then keep narrowing down, down ,down....but not so specific that you can't be flexible within that interest.</p>
<p>Looks like we posted the same time... to add to your thought of making economic models forever... well that is generally what economists are hired for!!! Remember that Harvard economists Jeffrey Sachs? He created economic models for different organizations and countries even though it seems like he's exploring a lot of areas. But all it comes down to him is making that economic model for that client and of course in order to do that successfully, he has to consult with the experts like those in the healthcare or the treasury.</p>
<p>That's why I wanna get another degree :D</p>
<p>Hmmm, but let's say instead of another PhD I do a new Bachelor's Degree, would that be more flexible, realistic?</p>
<p>eh...tons of American universities make it pretty explicit that they won't allow you to get a second bachelors....masters are much more realistic but still what in the world is the point? just study one field that accommodates your mainstream interests and you can branch out later. i would say most people do that - after some decades your little field can get pretty boring. but don't get a second phd that's just a waste because your new advisor won't care about what your interests are. you research what your advisor wants to research and little more.</p>
<p>A degree is just a piece of paper and a few initials by your name on some school's database. Pick a field, become an expert, then bring it to bear on whatever topics you like. If you want more depth on such topics than what your field offers, then read up on it in your spare time. It's not like your brain won't allow you to use the material you learn without additional certification.</p>
<p>Professors/researchers change topics all the time, sometimes drastically. You'll see professors with joint appointments in depts that don't sound very related at first. That phd says you're a hard-core researcher, no need for a 2nd phd.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But you MUST choose ONE field because those graduate schools are putting in a lot of time, energy, and money in you to get that PhD and an academic-related job afterwards. The last thing you want to do is to completely blow off (though it DOES happen) on them and make them completely regret their decision about accepting and keeping you in the program... the world of academia is very small, very small.... (which is why I'm not choosing to make the professor I dont' love into a personal enemy as he's in my field and the last thing I want for him to ruin my chances of getting in grad schools). Things get around faster than you think in this tight network of academics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, I don't think the world of academia is that harsh such that they would actually regret the choice of having admitted you and kept you around. After all, people leave academia all the time. Lots of people who complete their PhD's will take industry jobs where they many of them will never participate in any research or academic work for the rest of their lives. Several newly minted PhD's who are friends of mine took associate-level jobs in management consulting or investment banking right after graduation. Heck, a lot of PhD students don't even finish, deciding to instead just take the free consolation master's degree and leave. I know several Harvard and MIT PhD students who are seriously considering leaving with just a master's and hence planting that Harvard/MIT brand name on their resume. One of them I know is plotting to go home (to his home country) and leveraging that Harvard master's to get a very nice, cushy job for his government. </p>
<p>A guy who is getting 2 PhD's is at least (presumably) still trying to become an academic or a researcher. Plenty of other PhD students aren't even trying to do that.</p>
<p>sakky- that's what GOOD professors tell their students when those students ask for advice about graduate schools and LORs. They want to be able to say honestly that you can do the PhD work and not disappoint their friends in that graduate program. I've heard this from 4 or 5 different professors alone.</p>
<p>Otherwise.... what's the point of wasting everyone's time, including your own, in applying for the PhD? </p>
<p>I know that PhDs drop out when they get to the ABD stage for many, many reasons. Even my own father did and he did because he wasn't interested in the subject anymore.</p>
<p>Okay, so a second Master would be possible/realistic?</p>
<p>But how far can the subject of the Master deviate from your Bachelor's degree?</p>
<p>e.g. If I have a B.Sc. Economics/Management can I later do a Masters in some natural science, engineering, arts/media/music, etc.?</p>
<p>I really think you and the world would benefit if you straighten up your thinking. What is the point of so many degrees? Learn for the sake of learning, not for a scrap of paper - especially after you already have one! Degrees didn't use to exist and people back then were probably much happier than today's jacks-of-all-trades. </p>
<p>Besides, you want to know a dirty secret about people who hold multiple Masters degrees? They're notorious for being the sad little saps at academic and public events who constantly try to vie for attention from the PhD speakers. They just loooove to tell people waiting in line to talk to some famous academic (who holds only ONE BA/BS and ONE PhD) about their Masters in Mathematics, Theology, English, and "Science." Is that what you want? No, trust me it is not - people who hold multiple masters are some of the most noticeable laughing stocks within academia.</p>
<p>I don't care whether they laugh about me.
What if I'm really interested in the subjects?</p>