Has anyone done an on the job/industry PhD?
Tildes, I'd like some opinions please! I work in a genetics lab as a research assistant and I've got the opportunity to pursue a PhD under the supervision of the lab director whilst maintaining my current position and salary, with work I'd probably be doing anyway contributing to my thesis.
I feel like this is a pretty good opportunity: I'm not getting any younger and I have a young family, so going back to school to do this on a studentship is not an option, and my employer is willing to fund half the tuition fees and cover materials/ reagents etc. Word in the media is that there is a glut of PhDs at the moment, but I don't have my heart set on an academic career, so I won't be crushed if I end up in industry. I'm based in Europe, so would be looking at taking 3 years for the whole degree, which is coincidentally when my current contract is up.
Has anyone pursued a PhD under similar conditions? What was your experience like? Was getting your PhD worth it (especially in the life sciences/biotech)?
Thanks!
At the end of my PhD. Getting the degree was important for me and I’m glad I completed it. Don’t know yet if it will be a help or hinderance in my job search.
If you’re heart’s not set on getting PhD and if you have industry position that’s open for you, I would go and take that position.
Also, your PI isn’t completely funding your tuition and research materials? Is that normal in Europe? I wouldn’t have pursued a PhD if I had to take care of those things out of pocket.
Edit: Just realized I may have misunderstood something, are you currently in an industry lab?
Thanks for your reply. Not exactly industry, but yeah I'm currently employed full time in a research group as an RA. As there's no defined project currently, the idea is the PhD would (at least initially) come out of work I'd likely be doing anyway, and would probably end up being relatively broad. Funding is there for materials, and fees would cost me about 2k/yr which I can afford.
I basically approached my PI and said I was interested in pursuing a PhD 'on the job', and they seemed happy to supervise. I enjoy research and would like to stay in the field (not necessarily as an academic), and the opportunity to get the degree whilst still earning my normal wage seems like a good one.
Hmm, that is a really unique situation.
I never even considered something like that was possible. If you can afford it and if it might help you move up in your company further down the line, it might not be a bad idea to bite the bullet for a few years.
I guess my advice to you would be to find out what would your company do for you if you decide to do this. Would they promote you? etc. Basically, is you getting a PhD part of their plan for you?
I'm acquainted with a few M.D.'s and nurses who've done their PhD work "on the job", but I suspect its unique to the overlap with PhD-appropriate subject matter and ongoing institutional research. The subjects are physiology, genetics, cancer biology, healthcare administration, public health, or in one case, biomechanical engineering, where an orthopedic surgeon also had a habit of designing prosthetics for patients who couldn't be treated otherwise.