De meerwaarde van een PhD in je carrière

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Een van klantgroepen waar ik als freelance coach en organisatieadviseur mee te maken heb zijn medewerkers en studenten van de TU Delft. Zo heb ik bijdragen geleverd aan het PromooD Career Event van 2011 en de PostDoc Retreats 2011 en 2012 van het Postdoc Career Development Initiative (PCDI).

Voor de eerstgenoemde event schreef ik, samen met mijn partner dr N.J. de Fouw, de volgende bijdrage.

Added value of a PhD?!

Does a PhD carry added value in a professional career?

Asking a question like that seems a bit strange, especially in the context of a meeting for the PhD community on the verge of graduation and PhD candidates who aim to be in that same position before long. At the same time it fits very well in one of the targets of this meeting: career discussion. The answer to the question is “yes” as well as “no”. I will elaborate.

Yes, at the onset of a professional career, a PhD is of value for all. Simply because it documents that the bearer has shown that he or she can pose a relevant hypothesis, to be creative in carrying out the research to test it and to present in a scientifically elaborated document the arguments that validate or falsify the hypothesis. All these aspects are of value in all jobs for highly educated professionals.

And yes, a PhD is relevant and even indispensable for those who seek a career in pure of applied science, wherein the métier of scientist implies the continued pursuit of scientific questions and research. This can only be carried out successfully when applying and developing further the know-how, research expertise and publishing capabilities trained during the PhD process. The most successful will reach the Walhalla of science: a professorate at a top-A university or research institute.

And now the “no”. A PhD is not a lasting asset for those who, during their career, develop in a less scientific and perhaps more managerial way. Of course, the know-how of posing and dealing with a hypothesis is valid for scientists as well as managers. And at large firms many highly educated professionals enter the organization because of their scientific knowledge. Often, however, their career diverges from content to a more managerial setting. At the same time the scope and available time for considerations and decision making in managerial jobs are considerably more limited than those in a scientific setting. In commercial working environments the PhD graduate will often need to switch from his or her scientific approaches to non-scientific disciplines, and he or she will need to learn to do so through training and coaching. Training, for example, in economics, organisational skills and last but not least social skills such as human behaviour, co-operation and human resources management. That means: learning new skills and competencies adding to the PhD-foundation laid at university. And that challenge should not be under-estimated: it may prove more challenging for many scientists than thought beforehand.

contribution to PromooD Career Event 2011, May 23, 2011, TU Delft, prepared by dr Pieter Stienstra and dr Nanneke J. de Fouw