<p>Is there any value in obtaining a PhD if the goal is to work in industry as opposed to academia? How often do working engineers have a PhD? Does a PhD price you out of the employment market?</p>
<p>I think it depends on the job you want in industry. If you're looking into high-level research labs like at IBM, Intel, or places like that, a PhD would certainly be desirable.</p>
<p>Both Jack Welch and Lee Raymond, former CEO’s of GE and ExxonMobil respectively, had PhD’s in chemical engineering. So clearly you can obtain a PhD and enjoy a highly successful career in industry.</p>
<p>I work closely with a PhD Chemical Engineer and he was head of engineering for a large contracting company. This guy isn’t the first PhD Engineer I’ve ran into in industry. They always seem like teachers to me, but that is awesome.</p>
<p>What do you think is the usual length of time to obtain a PhD in engineering? What range of stipends could one expect to find?</p>
<p>Length of time goes from 3 years for the amazingly fast to 7+ years for the eternal grad students. At most “good” engineering schools I think it’s usually closer to 5 years, with a lot of the variation being dependent upon the group and the person in the group.</p>
<p>As for stipends, they’re usually enough to live on, but not extravagantly. I had offers ranging from $24k to $30k.</p>