Please can someone tell me what PHD choices would be good for me?

Question

Hi pplz
Im a 3rd year student of chemistry at a very good university in England. Im currently on an industrial placement as well, and this summer hope to get another 2 month placement in a similar chemistry based company. I will finish my Masters next year. I suppose all im asking is is what PHD subjects can I do with my chemical background BUT i dont particularly want to do a full chemistry phd since i dont think i particularly want to work in a chemistry company (or in a lab neway) in the future. I want to do a subject that will still give me good career prospects ie managerial roles, but what phd can i do?? can i do a phd combining chemistry with something else like business?? im soo confused! All i want in the future is a good job - i have the skills, but im not sure i enjoy chemistry enough to do a phd solely in chem.

any help would be much appreciated

thanks! :)

Answer 1

First of all, I don't believe your background tale. It's implausible that a third-year student of chemistry is only one year shy of getting her Master's degree. In the third year, a student is still an undergraduate working on her Bachelor's degree and still has three or four years to go for the MS.

Besides that, someone at an advanced level in any discipline nearly always learns correct spelling and diction at some point along the way, and your language skills aren't commensurate with the educational level you're claiming.

I suspect that you may be one of those people of color who often try to impersonate academically or professionally accomplished persons, as part of a racial hoax.

Would you please reveal, in an "additional comment," the name of the university you attend, the city in which it is located, and the name of your faculty adviser? That would give others an opportunity to check your bona fides, if they were so inclined.

The biggest chemistry fields in which doctorates are usually available are Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. From the tone of your text, it sounds as if you lack passion for a scientific career (albeit you put yourself forward as eminently competent for one) and would prefer a more social kind of employment, preferably one that allows you a dominant role with respect to most of the people you work with.

In that case, I suggest you pursue an MBA, a business degree, rather than a Ph.D. in chemistry. Your already vast experience in chemistry would make you highly qualified for a managerial role in a chemical company. Or you might apply to the civil service, in the UK or in the US, for a job as a manager, either in civil engineering or in the military.

Answer 2

A popular combination that you see frequently is an MS in a technical discipline (like chemistry) and then an MBA. This would open up opportunities for you in fields like marketing, finance, purchasing, sales, technical sales, and investor relations in companies that sell or use chemicals or materials. You would use knowledge of chemistry and business outside of a lab setting.

The MS degree would give you a competitive advantage over the many job candidates who do a BS in a technical field and then an MBA.

In a corporate/industrial environment, you typically would not need a Ph.D unless you were going to work in research and development.

Answer 3

If you are unsure of what kind of PhD you want to get -- you probably should not get one -- at least not now.

You should only get a PhD in a field if you are driven to do research in that field. It doesn't sound like that is the case. If it were -- you would know it in your heart.

For what you want, you would be better off working for a few years in a field that interests you and then getting an MBA from a top school. Lots of people do a combined MS-MBA.

Answer 4

I received my Master's degree from a similar type of program. I was accepted to a Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee and then transferred to the University of Louisville. Both programs respected my Master's degree. You might not get into Harvard, although one of my collegues did, but you'll get in somewhere good.

Answer 5

Perhaps what you want is not a Ph.D. but instead to do an MBA. You could then seek managerial employment in a chemical company.