<p>Hi everyone. Great forum, very interesting posts, found some good answers...</p>
<p>Here's my problem: I have been thinking to apply for a Ph.D. program for past year. I was/used to be at least 75% sure I want to do it and I can commit another 4-5 years...</p>
<p>BUT the more I read about Ph.D. programs from other students, forums, blogs, the more scared I get into stepping the unknown and now I think I am 50/50 sure or maybe not sure whether I can make such a move. So thats where I NEED YOUR HELP, which I would greatly appreciate!</p>
<p>Heres my education (above average three different private universities in the US):</p>
<p>XXX University BA International Relations (Cumulative GPA 3.4) Grad year: 2002
YYY University Masters in Public Policy (Cumulative GPA 3.5) Grad year: 2004
ZZZ University 2nd Masters degree - MBA in Finance (Cumulative GPA 3.7) Grad year: 2008</p>
<p>I have about 6 years of work experience in journalism, think tanks and private corporations, currently work as a Financial Analyst. Have been published, have written numerous articles on various American political & economic issues in foreign newspapers </p>
<p>My intellectual thirst is not satisfied and I feel I want to pursue a PhD. </p>
<p>What makes me think Ph.D. would fit me are the following:</p>
<ul>
<li> I love to research and I really enjoy writing.</li>
<li> I always tried to choose classes that had research papers and large projects, and I did well in advanced graduate classes.</li>
<li> I think I can write in English quite well, although my native languages are Ukrainian and Polish
Ive been in the States since 1998
</li>
<li> Not married, no kids, have all the time to devote to research and not many other responsibilities (other than my career).</li>
</ul>
<p>What SCARED the living hell out of me about Ph.D. programs:</p>
<ul>
<li>Statistics of graduation: I found out that some of the schools that I was interested to apply have extremely horrible attrition rates, for example out of 20-25 starting Ph.D. students only 8-10 will eventually graduate. Ph.D. qual/comprehensive exams are the way of vetting who becomes a Ph.D
I think here we also have some politics involved (there gotta be politics involved!)</li>
</ul>
<p>So I dont want to spend 3-4 years of studying and working my butt of researching and then suddenly face the most embarrassing and shameful fact of life: FAILURE.</p>
<p>This fear of failure is whats causing me top loose interest in Ph.D. program Thats why my interest has disappeared in Ph.D. program in Economics and Ph.D. in Finance I have heard horror stories about Econ PhD programs </p>
<p>The Ph.D. programs I am interested in (I have heard that I should choose the area that interests me, since I will have to do a LOT of research on the subject matter over and over again )</p>
<p>These are the Ph.D. subject areas that interest me a lot and frankly I think I would enjoy and find it interesting researching in these subject matters:</p>
<p>Ph.D. in Business Administration (the only issue that scares me is that my math skills are OK. Solid B and Ive heard the math skills needed for PhD in Business Admin is much more advanced compared to MBA programs ). </p>
<p>(DBA) Doctor of Business Administration fairly new program offered by small number of schools (good schools generally dont offer DBA, havent seen...)</p>
<p>My areas of research interest: International Business, Management.</p>
<p>Ph.D. in International Relations (or Ph.D. in Political Science with concentration area in International Relations for schools that dont offer IR PhD) . IR is my favorite subject. I read every day foreign affairs issues, magazines and follow actively the news, politics, elections & campaigns and all the current events. Love discussing, arguing and analyzing political issues concerning global (regional entities, states, multinational corps). I just believe my IR skills (research & literature) are so solid that I should not waste 4-5 years of PhD for this I think business admin can be more practical, since I can also work in research/consulting/other positions in private or non-profits. I do enjoy teaching too, have tutored in foreign languages for number of years, so I can also see myself in academia as well </p>
<p>The only question that I CAN NOT ANSWER and would appreciate your suggestions/thoughts </p>
<p>If I start my PhD attrition rates and getting kicked out of the program should be my last worry, because I easily lose motivation, especially when I can see that the risks can outweigh all the potential benefits and all this throws me back to the same position. </p>
<p>Any suggestions? What should I do? Any programs you'd recommend?</p>