<p>I was looking at Harvards GSAS and I found this..
<a href="http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/busecon.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/busecon.html</a>
Would there be an advantage of a PhD compared to an MBA? Is it easier to get into a PhD program compared to an MBA? Doesn't seem like you need work experience; I think its more for teaching Business Administration.</p>
<p>You are not far off. The fact is, PhD's (as well as Doctorates of Business Administration or DBA's) and MBA's are built to serve two entirely different populations. You should not go around comparing the two, because they are entirely different vehicles that serve entirely different needs.</p>
<p>PhD's and DBA's are designed for people who want to enter business research, especially if they want to become Business School professors. As you have noticed, their requirements for work experience are minimal (although many candidates will have extensive work experience), and they don't weight work experience heavily. What they weight is your potential to do research. Hence, their admissions are similar to the admissions of other doctoral programs. </p>
<p>However, as you have also noticed, they don't serve the same purpose as the MBA. You should not view them as 'substitutes' for the MBA or as a shortcut to get around the need for work experience. An MBA is a well-understood credential that will make you eligible for variety of management roles. For example, an MBA is a well-trod path to getting a job as an associate in IB or consulting. A Phd or DBA will not do that. Instead, they set up you up primarily for a teaching job, and possibly secondarily for highly specialized research roles in industry or government. For example, a PhD in Business Economics could potentially set up you with a job as a government economist. Or you could join the research arm of an investment bank (although you should note that this is NOT a traditional investment banking position). </p>
<p>Look carefully at the following links and you should see for yourself that these degrees are really for those who have a high interest in research and in business academia. You should be able to convince yourself that they are not at all equivalent to an MBA, both in content and in targeted profession. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/placement/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/placement/index.html</a>
<a href="http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/placement/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/placement/index.html</a>
<a href="http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/SYOA/page1.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/SYOA/page1.html</a>
<a href="http://mitsloan.mit.edu/phd/p-main.php%5B/url%5D">http://mitsloan.mit.edu/phd/p-main.php</a>
<a href="http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/overview.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/overview.html</a>
<a href="http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/overview/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/overview/index.html</a></p>
<p>Thank you very much. Also, does a person with a Phd (doing research for an investment bank) make a lot less compared to an associate IB with an MBA? Would it be less stressful then an IBanker?</p>
<p>In general, yes and yes. </p>
<p>It is also possible to get into associate IB with a PhD, although this is uncommon. Basically, if you want to get into traditional IB, you should go down the traditional IB route - hence, getting an analyst job right after undergrad, then getting your MBA, then getting an IB associate job.</p>
<p>Sakky, somewhere I heard that in management consulting, it actually helps to have some kind of doctorate degree. Is that true? How often does someone actually working in the financial field (not teaching in the educational field) have a DBA/Ph.D? Can it advance a business career in any way?</p>
<p>
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somewhere I heard that in management consulting, it actually helps to have some kind of doctorate degree
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, it obviously doesn't HURT to have a doctoral degree. But as far as it helping, I don't know that it would be more helpful than any other non-MBA graduate degree. Yes, there are some doctoral guys who get into MC, apart from those who get doctorates in business, these people are few and far between. Even those who get doctorates in business get into MC only uncommonly. Again, take a gander at the links I posted above and you will see that relatively few business doctoral students get into MC. </p>
<p>
[quote]
How often does someone actually working in the financial field (not teaching in the educational field) have a DBA/Ph.D?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Honestly, it's pretty rare, and usually confined to the banking research departments, and even then it's not particularly common. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Can it advance a business career in any way?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Obviously it can, but the point must be emphasized that its purpose is not to advance a career in industry, but rather a career in business academia. However, it obviously can still advance a career in industry, just like a PhD in any field can advance a career in industry. Jack Welch and Lee Raymond took their PhD's in chemical engineering (from Illinois and Wisconsin respectively) all the way to the top of GE and Exxon respectively. The first 4 CEO's of Intel (Noyce, Moore, Grove, and Barrett) all had PhD's in science or engineering from MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, and Stanford respectively The current CEO is the first CEO in Intel history to not have a PhD - instead, Paul Otellini has an MBA from Berkeley Haas. The CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, has a PhD in computer science from Berkeley. Plenty of other highly prominent business leaders have PhD's in something or other. Perhaps pointedly, Hank McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, has a PhD in business from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.</p>
<p>However, again, I think it should be emphasized that a doctoral degree, even in business, is not in any way a substitute for an MBA. Doctorates are made for people who have a strong interest in research and academia. You should not see the doctorate simply as a way to get into banking or consulting while skipping over an MBA. If you know you want to get into MC, you should do so through the most direct path, and the doctorate is clearly not the most direct path.</p>
<p>Sakky, how much do business professors make? They get the summer off too right?</p>
<p>Also, I saw your post in the Grad forum on becoming a professor and I have a question. You sayed.. "By getting into consulting/banking right after your PhD, you'd be coming in at the associate level"
Could someone do that with this degree in Business Econ?</p>
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Sakky, how much do business professors make?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Varies by school, but generally, they make more than regular professors do. B-school profs tend to be some of the higher paid profs at a particular university, because business schools are such big profit centers for universities.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong - you're still apt to make significantly more money doing MC or IB (especially IB). So if your goal is just to make money, you shouldn't be doing doctorate. </p>
<p>And yes, if you are tenured, you get the summer off just like any other tenured prof. </p>
<p>
[quote]
"By getting into consulting/banking right after your PhD, you'd be coming in at the associate level"
Could someone do that with this degree in Business Econ?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's the problem with taking quotes out of context. You have no feel for the flow of the conversation. </p>
<p>In general, yes, if you have a PhD, you can come in at an associate level of MC or IB. However, I maintain that if you know you want to do MC or IB, you should just go and do the 'regular' way - meaning taking an analyst job right after undergrad to see if you like it. It's only a year or two of your life, you'll be getting work experience that will prove to be valuable no matter what you later choose to do with your life, you'll be making good money, and most importantly, you'll get to see whether the field is really for you. If you find out that you don't like it, fair enough, then you can think about doing other things, for example, getting your doctorate.</p>