PhD degree and the Job market

Society Business and Career
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In Pakistan , every other person is doing their PhD .. In the UK , its a very respectful but a hugely challenging step to take ..

So , those who are doing their PhD or have done it , what kind of benefits have you recieved from attaining this degree? has it improved the job market opportunities for you? has it increased the financial gains for you? easier to get into various professions?

Please give us an insight to how your professional life has changed after completing your Phd?

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

you need a PhD degree to teach at universities now. i haven't been able to secure a faculty position as of yet [in 7 years] but i expect to get one in New Zealand in the New Year, inshaa Allah...plz pray for me...thanx.

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

^ Moving to New Zealand?

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

PhD doesn't help with career growth in any other type of job except teaching. The term that you used "job market opportunities" implies that you are talking about corporate sector. Financial gain, sure if you were a lecturer (means withdrawing a lecturer's pay) you immediately becomes an assistant professor which otherwise could take years.

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

Thanks lostsoul for the insight. Is this from the Pakistani market perspective ?

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market


yup, iA, if everything goes well in the new year :)

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

I found something really strange .. Two people in pakistan doing their PhD and in the dissertation they were literally buying ready made notes instead of doing their own researches etc ... and some of their assignments were done not by them but other people helping them out ...

That sort of makes me really feel that PhD in Pakistan is just like someone completing college !
I might be wrong but I really felt that these guys are cheating the system .. PhD has a very strong presence and value in the educational system and its only being ripped apart with these tactics ..

What is the international acceptance of those who do their PhD from Pakistan?

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

Mubarak ho. :biggthumb:

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

jazaak Allah :slight_smile: du’aa karnaa yaaraa :slight_smile:

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

mujhe is baat par ek joke yaad aa gayaa jo India kii ek university ke PhD student par thaa:

ek dost apne prof dost se milne aaye to dekhaa prof saahab aaraam se ek kursii par baiThe huye haiN aur beGham unkii unke paas hii ek duusrii kursii meN biraajmaan haiN…kuchh doorii par ek bhaiNs bandhii hai jisko ek young saa smart saa laRkaa dooh rahaa hai [who was milking the cow]. yeh dekh kar dost bolaa:

**“Professor saaHab mubaarak ho … is baar tumko energetic and smart looking young man milaa hai bhaiNs kii dekh bhaal ke liye!”

beGham boliiN…“yeh gwaalaa nahiiN hai, yeh inkaa PhD student hai…3-4 saal ke ba’d isko PhD karaa deNge…bechaara bachchoN ko bhii dekh letaa hai abhot pyaar se!”** :cb: :rotfl: :smiley:

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

In Pakistan, I see people grabbing PhD degrees like its a joke. People are doing their "PhDs' in a year time. :S It's a joke! The curriculum is a joke. But ofcourse if you have your PhD from abroad and apply for a job in Pakistan, people will want you!

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

mujhe naukri dilvaayeNge/dilvaayeNGii? lol…girls will want me too? :wink: :cb: nokri ke saath chhokri bhii milegii? lol … i’ve it from ‘abroad’ :stuck_out_tongue:

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

Which university are you talking about? I am not a huge fan of doing a PhD from Pakistan but its not like that at all. PhD in 1 year? No way!!! For PhD, there isn't any curriculum from what I know. There are no study courses for PhD. Its a research degree where you choose a topic and either extend research, apply some existing research from some other country to yours or you can choose a totally new topic and research on that.

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

Buying content for your research is a common practice worldwide not just in Pakistan. I am not sure if anyone can use that as is though. It would qualify as plagirism and it will disqualify the dissertation. Other researches are definitely required to support your own point though so I don't understand what's the concern here.

As for someone copying contents from other researcher's work ... happened in the past and will keep on happening. HEC black listed around 12-13 assistent professors and professors for presenting someone else's research as their own.

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

PHD is mostly for the people who love teaching. I would suggest to do phd for those who are willing to join teaching because it is a best option to directly become a university lecturer. For those, who wants to be in the teaching field plus want to teach at uni , it is very hard for them to go through all the process of teaching at Primary school–> Secondary school–> College–> Finally University. It takes more than 15 or 20 years. So, why not go for phd and become a uni professor and live your life in calm environment rather banging your head front of kids. I did 10 weeks training at Secondary school , taught year 7,8,9 and 10. I hate hate teaching. :mad:

Two of my friends are studying phd, they say it isn’t too hard as people think. All you have to do is do a lot of research and prepare a report,project etc. And yes , they do get work done from others for their reports , have experienced this with my own eyes. If you love teaching , go for phd and earn more money. :salute:

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

Let’s get something straight… a PhD degree is primarily a research focused undertaking and prepares individuals to accept positions related to academic or industry research. Since a lot of formally funded research is conducted at academic institutions, universities and colleges provide the most common employment option for many PhDs.

By no means is a PhD a requirement to “teach” at higher education institutions… I have many colleagues with Master’s degrees who teach a variety of courses at the university level. If, however, you want to be involved in conducting or supervising research, then a PhD is a requirement.

Also, I should mention that as an alternative to a PhD, there are other terminal degrees such as the EdD, DEng, DSc and DBA that are often pursued by people who wish to work in professional settings other than academic environments.

Coming to the question of employment potential, despite the difficulty of obtaining a PhD, the academic sector is very competitive to get into. Many PhDs spend a long time in postdoc positions before obtaining suitable regular employment at educational institutions and I’ve been noticing this more year after year.

As far as the state of PhD in Pakistan, while I don’t have first-hand experience, I’ve heard about many horror stories… the most recent being the case of a substandard thesis in Physics that was accepted for a PhD and was severely criticized by various academics including Dr. Hoodbhoy and other international academics (Link: Letter to HEC on crackpotism (II)). I’m sure there are people who genuinely work hard for their degrees but cases like these don’t help their cause. Overall, a doctorate from Pakistan isn’t very well regarded internationally.

Also, if what people in this thread are saying is true e.g. a PhD completed in a matter of one or two years, or a PhD not being a challenging undertaking, then I have my doubts about the quality of the programs and value of the degree. At the very least, a PhD education involves learning about scientific research methods (about a year long undertaking) + developing and defending a research proposal (about a year) and then conducting research and writing and defending your thesis (another year)… for a total of 3 years… which is possible in some European countries. In North America, the time required is much longer… around 5 to 6 years due to additional coursework and Comprehensive exams that are required. I personally spent 6.5 years completing mine because I was also working full-time during the last few years of the PhD.

Rest assured, a PhD, if done right, is no menial task – it’s a challenge and requires a lot of sacrifices. Ask around and you’ll hear horror stories about people dropping out, family lives being affected etc. - it shouldn’t be pursued unless you really know what you’re getting into and you have a clear idea about the career pathway you wish to follow.

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Re: PhD degree and the Job market

LC , I was waiting for your response , thanks so much for clarifying and sharing so much detail.

Yes , indeed PhD in western countries is a degree of higher grade because alot of effort goes into completing it and not everyone's cup of tea .
In Pakistan unfortunately people have no idea what research is , hence they just treat it as another two years of semester studies, get happy to put a PhD title next to their name, cheat through the research material and yeah all done and dusted with a PhD !

I really hope that culture changes and truely brings about an immense respect to the qualification that it truly deserves ...

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5 to 6 years, one has to do a huge amount of work. You completed phd in what subject?

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here in Canada, 3-5 years is the norm...i did in 3.5 years and 1.5 years for Masters.

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^ Sam here , it takes 3 to 4years in the UK.