Question

Topic: Career/Training

Ms In Marketing Prior To Phd In Marketing?

Posted by Anonymous on 5/25/2010 at 10:37 AM ET 250 Points
I have an MBA in International Management, executive education in global business and solid knowledge of foreign languages and cultural issues. I also count with + 20 years of international corporate, entrepreneurial and consulting experience in sales and marketing. (Global strategic marketing and corporate branding, etc.)

Today, as I am becoming more and more interested in the academics and contribution to the development of the marketing and global business studies & science, I am trying to figure out what would be better to pursue; either a PHD in Marketing or International Business, or a Master of Science in Marketing and then eventually continue on with a PHD with a specific marketing and/or international business concentration.

In spite of the knowledge I might be able to leverage with my experience, I feel like the fact that I am in my early 40’s might mean I necessarily have to make the right decision, given the time and effort I would need to dedicate to this new exciting, promising, and rewarding, but also extremely time-consuming and intense career path. I will very much appreciate any opinion and/or recommendation in this regard.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 5/25/2010 at 1:27 PM Member
    A PhD is a requirement for teaching at the University level. And a PhD in marketing or international pretty much only sets you up for teaching - there really is not a benefit to a PhD for work in the corporate world.

    And, having a Masters degree does not seem to help in getting a PhD. PhD programs generally take 4 years whether you come straight from a BS or have a Masters degree. So the track of getting a Masters first likely would not gain you anything.

    So, if you want to go into academics, I would suggest going for one of the PhDs directly. If you don't want to go into the academic field, I would not do it.

    This comment is specific to the States - may be different in other countries. And other areas of business, like Finance or Economics, there are corporate tracks that would involve PhDs.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 5/25/2010 at 5:41 PM Moderator
    Where? What country?

    If you want to end up in academia, I'd opt for the PhD right away. I don't see what benefit there would be to an MS in Marketing.

    You might also consider becoming an adjunct somewhere, in which case you may not need any degree beyond your MBA ... and it will let you "taste" the academic life without having to invest the time in getting a PhD.
  • Posted on 5/25/2010 at 6:46 PM Author
    Thank you very much for your replies. It seems like a MS in Marketing would have a heavy academic focus. It is recommended as a valuable qualification - and experience - for acceptance into a PhD later on. However, it might not be necessary, so I could go straight to the PhD process.

    An MBA though, does not usually have too much weight when it comes to acceptance into PHD programs. However, I cannot imagine how the experience/knowledge previously gained through an MBA could harm a PHD process. On the other hand, a PHD process might help improve consulting abilities and skills besides its primary focus on the teaching and research.
  • Posted on 5/28/2010 at 10:28 AM Author
    I thank you very much for your opinions. I am closing this question/discussion with this last note.

    Sincerely, miamirh
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