Is a PhD Worth It?

Abstract

Chris and Fred discuss the importance (or lack thereof) of having a PhD in reliability engineering. Is it worth it?

Key Points

Join Chris and Fred as they discuss whether having a PhD in reliability engineering is worth getting. There’s a lot to unpack here …

Topics include:

• Simple answer … no. But it depends on what you are trying to achieve. Many reliability engineers are self-taught or have accumulated knowledge from lots of ‘little’ courses. And many reliability engineers with a PhD … are not good at their job! So what job do you want to do?
• Postgraduate reliability engineering learning specializes in theory. Not practice. So just because you have a PhD, it doesn’t mean you are a leader, can facilitate workshops, know how to compromise, know when to put your textbooks and equations away, and know when to rely on expert judgment. So again … what job do you want to do?
• You are as valuable as you are valuable. You are not as valuable as a certificate says you are. This is one of the issues with postgraduate study. The teachers (professors) primarily focus on research and high-level data analysis. If this is what you want to do for the job of your dreams … great! If you want to learn how to do this because you realize that sometimes you will need to do high-end data analysis but most of the time you rely on engineering judgment … great! But if you do this to achieve status and walk into a high-earning job where respect is granted and not earned … you will be in a lot of trouble.

Enjoy an episode of Speaking of Reliability. Where you can join friends as they discuss reliability topics. Join us as we discuss topics ranging from design for reliability techniques to field data analysis approaches.

SOR 1056 Is a PhD Worth It?Christopher Jackson

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