Non Traditional PHD Candidate

Graduate School
1

Hello, while I’ve been very successful in the business world, I would like to finally pursue a phd in economics; and would appreciate feedback in terms of strategies to gain acceptance to a top program. My profile is as follows:

I’m 38, and targeting a 2019 matriculation. My post MBA work has included:
-leading a strategy and analysis (heavily research based) global team for a $100 billion tech firm when I was 27.
-making it to senior exec with a $10bn company when I was 30.
-taking over a data science tech startup at 32 for a turnaround and getting a successful exit.
-taking over president of a $300 million business unit for a Fortune 500 company.

-I got an MBA from Babson College in the one year accelerated program. 3.5 gpa and 770 gmat.
-Undergrad was not so stellar, as I was a less focused student. 2.9 gpa at Bentley University majoring in business.
-Took some independent courses in economics with the university of London correspondence program - micro, game theory, econometrics.

Undergrad was too long ago to get recommendations. My MBA professors would give strong recommendations in terms of intellectual horsepower, aptitude for analytics, statistics, economics, and related matter.

I know that I have a strong aptitude for the subject, having mixed it up with economists and mathematicians from leading universities in my entrepreneurial work, and having built economic models. However, the question is how can I convey this in way that would be acceptable to top tier schools.

My goal is to use the phd to transition to a career in policy/think tank work; though I also have an interest in teaching, but secondarily to the think tank objective.

Communication, writing ability, public speaking (as in for teaching), would be natural given my background.

One thing I’m considering is to take a couple of advanced math classes at a top university just to demonstrate analytics skills.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

2

Have you discussed this plan with your MBA faculty? They should have a sense of what your options are, and their contacts may be critical to you finding a good PhD program.

3

how long ago was the MBA? (Too long for recs?)

That 2.9 will be hard to overcome as some programs have a minimum of a 3.0.

If I were you, I might consider a Master’s in Econ at the highest-ranked school that you can get into. Many MA programs are cash cows, so they are not as competitive for admissions as a PhD.

Plus, given your age, you can get back into the work force faster.

Perhaps reach out to say, Columbia or NYU or Georgetown (lotsa think tanks in DC), for a informational meeting to find out about their programs and see if you are even eligible or might be competitive.

Good luck.

4

You have a really interesting profile and have certainly accomplished a lot!

  1. Do you know what kind of research you want to do? International Econ? Econ and Political Theory? Game Theory? That might help to narrow what schools to apply to.
  2. You might or might not have to do a Masters or some extra Econ courses to get more knowledge on the theory side. Do you think your goals could be achieved with just a masters?
  3. I second doing grad school near the DC area. There are lots of think tanks around that you can do internships in/recruit with. Some good schools around are George Mason, Georgetown, GWU, American.

Good luck!

5

Frankly, I think it is going to be difficult to get direct entry into top econ PhD track for you. The first question I would have is your mathematics background. Most programs are going to be looking for a MINIMUM of calculus through multivariate, linear algebra, and mathematical statistics. Most people that graduate with a B.S in econ don’t have the math background for advanced studies. Second, have you taken calculus based micro/macro theory classes? For many students, the first-year PhD theory classes will be their fourth time in a micro/macro theory class (intro in fresh, intermediate in soph/jr, advanced in Sr/MS). The first year mico theory class is a weed-out class. If you struggle at all with the math, you will never get to the theory.

If you really want to try it, I would start with an MS program (assuming you have the math). I wouldn’t worry too much about the prestige of the program. With a 2.9 and 3.5 gpa and no good in field recommendations, you are going to have to shoot for mid-range schools. If you do really well in a M.S program, you may have shot for a decent PhD program. The last thing I would add is that for any programs, you really want to be funded (RA/TA). Even if you can afford it, the extra nonmonetary benefits of funding are necessary. This applies to both M.S. and PhD programs.

6

What kind of policy/think tank work do you want to do? You may not need a PhD to do it, actually. Many research associates who work at think tanks and policy institutes have an MA. If you want to be the leader of a research team and the one who is determining the work flow, ideas, and methods of the research - then yes, a PhD is probably what you want to go for. Or if you want to be more competitive for the very top positions at top think tanks like RAND and RTI, then maybe. But even those think tanks hire MAs - check out their career pages for job listings.

In economics PhD programs, your business prowess (senior exec et al.) won’t matter so much. What will really matter is prior academic performance and research experience.

However, based on what you said here you only have 3 economics classes and no economics research experience. Business and economics are related, but not the same, and your advances in the corporate world won’t help you perform research and scholarship in the field of economics. Given that - plus your mediocre undergraduate performance - I agree with others when they say you should try to do an MA in economics first. It’ll give you a chance to show you can perform at the graduate level, do some research, and get recommendations from professors who have taught you in an academic (as opposed professional) program.

You may even have to take a few more classes to even get into an MA program - have you taken macro, for example? And yeah, if you don’t have 1-2 semesters of calculus and linear algebra already, you may not even be that competitive for an MA program. You definitely would not be for a PhD program.

Also, minor thing, but public speaking isn’t the same as teaching. There’s a whole lot more that goes into it than that.