Accepting a job that requires only a bachelors degree when you have a PhD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience.

You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience.

You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

If anyone is "clueless" it's you. Engineers with a master's degree can't be compared to statisticians with a Ph.D. They're completely unrelated. You should stop giving advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should apply for jobs in quantitiative finance. My DH works for a quant fund, only has a masters in statistics, and makes over ~ 700k.

At your age (mid to late twenties), he was making over 200k with bonus.

I'm going to guess that this was before the 2008 housing bubble and that your husband got his degree from MIT. Also, he was part of a fraternity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience.

You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

I have a PhD in engineering, and employers ABSOLUTELY value your dissertation research as real-world experience. I also now work in workforce development in STEM fields, and work with employers who hire and they are desperate for PhDs in STEM fields from reputable programs (except life sciences - whole separate issue).

OP, $150 is a good starting salary for a new PhD. $86K is also fine. I have fellow PhD grads who have taken jobs (non-postdoc jobs) ranging from $75K-$250K right out of grad school at prestigious employers. Those going into policy got paid less, those going into financial services/consulting got paid more, those going into engineering/pharma got paid $100K+.

Two things I would think about: 1) your first salary will determine salary for all your future jobs. Starting at $86K means that even if you move to a higher COL area, employers will see that as your salary history and you will be paid less than your peers. You may want to consider taking the CA job for 2 years, and then moving to a lower COL area - this will allow you to negotiate a better salary in the lower COL area because of your history. 2) For many PhDs, the first job you take locks you into an industry. So look beyond this first job and think about what you want potential future earnings to bring, and if you want to stay in that industry for many years. Some PhD folks break out and shift directions after their first job, but this is really a minority - most are now "set" as experts in that area.

Remember, your career is 30+ years, your first job may only be 2 years, and think long-term, not short term, about the direction your first job will take you in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience.

You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

I have a PhD in engineering, and employers ABSOLUTELY value your dissertation research as real-world experience. I also now work in workforce development in STEM fields, and work with employers who hire and they are desperate for PhDs in STEM fields from reputable programs (except life sciences - whole separate issue).

OP, $150 is a good starting salary for a new PhD. $86K is also fine. I have fellow PhD grads who have taken jobs (non-postdoc jobs) ranging from $75K-$250K right out of grad school at prestigious employers. Those going into policy got paid less, those going into financial services/consulting got paid more, those going into engineering/pharma got paid $100K+.

Two things I would think about: 1) your first salary will determine salary for all your future jobs. Starting at $86K means that even if you move to a higher COL area, employers will see that as your salary history and you will be paid less than your peers. You may want to consider taking the CA job for 2 years, and then moving to a lower COL area - this will allow you to negotiate a better salary in the lower COL area because of your history. 2) For many PhDs, the first job you take locks you into an industry. So look beyond this first job and think about what you want potential future earnings to bring, and if you want to stay in that industry for many years. Some PhD folks break out and shift directions after their first job, but this is really a minority - most are now "set" as experts in that area.

Remember, your career is 30+ years, your first job may only be 2 years, and think long-term, not short term, about the direction your first job will take you in.

OP: Thanks for the help. These were things I did not think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Unless TA experience counts. I've been a TA all throughout my masters and PhD programs.

I put all my TA work down and any extra projects I did for/with a professor.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on earning your doctorate!!!! It is exciting to make plans to move forward towards the next stage of life. Regardless of which job opportunity you end up with, life for your family will undoubtedly be less stressful from this point onward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a job offer as a data analyst in Florida. The pay is $86k. This would be my first job out of college. I have 3 degrees in statistics. Is this a good offer? I have another offer in California but the cost of living is so high there. My girlfriend applied for this job for me. I have been avoiding the jobs that only require a bachelors degree.

I live in Florida, trust me: that is boatloads of cash for entry level.

[Anonymous]

I am a PhD who works in a bachelors level position. I only did this because I took 4 years out of the workforce when I had kids, so I did not have many options. My job is well paying, but it is boring because it is not intended for someone with my level of education/intellect. The level of downtime alone is making me crazy. I would not suggest making a similar career move if you can avoid it. You will not be doing high-level work.

[Anonymous]

Op here: My hiring manager says my job title is at a masters or PhD level. Job title is senior data analyst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here: My hiring manager says my job title is at a masters or PhD level. Job title is senior data analyst.

That's a pretty generic title that could mean anything from data entry to applied machine learning expert. What matters more, potentially, is that your hiring manager is telling you that the job is intended for a MS or PhD.

In the end, it really comes down to which job sounds more interesting and how it fits into your life. It doesn't sound like you think the FL job is interesting. That's meaningful. It's pretty unlikely that someone with a PhD is going to be happy working just for pay. But SV isn't really the place to come to strengthen your relationship, especially when you have a small child. I guess I'm sticking with my advice above that maybe you should keep looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience


You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

I have a PhD in engineering, and employers ABSOLUTELY value your dissertation research as real-world experience. I also now work in workforce development in STEM fields, and work with employers who hire and they are desperate for PhDs in STEM fields from reputable programs (except life sciences - whole separate issue).

OP, $150 is a good starting salary for a new PhD. $86K is also fine. I have fellow PhD grads who have taken jobs (non-postdoc jobs) ranging from $75K-$250K right out of grad school at prestigious employers. Those going into policy got paid less, those going into financial services/consulting got paid more, those going into engineering/pharma got paid $100K+.

Two things I would think about: 1) your first salary will determine salary for all your future jobs. Starting at $86K means that even if you move to a higher COL area, employers will see that as your salary history and you will be paid less than your peers. You may want to consider taking the CA job for 2 years, and then moving to a lower COL area - this will allow you to negotiate a better salary in the lower COL area because of your history. 2) For many PhDs, the first job you take locks you into an industry. So look beyond this first job and think about what you want potential future earnings to bring, and if you want to stay in that industry for many years. Some PhD folks break out and shift directions after their first job, but this is really a minority - most are now "set" as experts in that area.

Remember, your career is 30+ years, your first job may only be 2 years, and think long-term, not short term, about the direction your first job will take you in.

Curious what field you are in with those salaries - as an engineer with a PhD in consulting, it has always been a small bump in pay but never seemed to be a huge differentiator. Maybe, I am getting screwed.

[Anonymous]

I have done hiring of PhD's, not lately though (meaning the last 4 years). And I used to be a young PhD.

Unless you go into the financial services industry (nearly impossibly for someone without connections), 150K is a great starting salary (for DC at least). Heck, 150K is the salary of a GS15 -- meaning a senior gov't official. That would be at least mid career.

However, the bay area is unbelievably expensive (even compared to DC)

If I were hiring a PhD in Physics (where I would hire), here in DC I would probably be looking at 90-110K, depending on various factors.

A PhD Scientist with 20-25 years post PhD most likely would be making between 150K and 200K, presuming they are 1) good, and 2) still technical.

I know people that went to the Proj. Management route and got a quick bump (several years ago; salaries were lower) from 110K to 130K, but they max out at 175 unless they handle to big complex programs.

[Anonymous]

Take the Florida job. It's what your heart wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a phd in statistics hold out. Do you have data visualization skills? You can make more than that.

With 0 work experience?

Take the job. In a few years you'll be way more marketable.

Uh, no pp. I hire statistics (and other STEM) phds fresh out of grad school for more than $100k. Plus the job description does not demand a phd. There are better jobs op. 5-6 years of a rigorous phd program is not "no work experience".

It is absolutely zero work experience. OP has proven that he is very good at doing statistics in an academic setting. This doesn't necessarily mean he will be a capable employee, as he has no track record. Tons of people have big degrees but never perform well in their chosen field. If a PhD in statistics is that in demand, then you have nothing to worry about if you hold out.

I'm sorry that you understand nothing about phd's and/or research. Depending on the job and the degree, the experience counts. This is not the same as a literature phd applying for an HR job for which he/she has no experience


You are correct, I know nothing about PhD's and research. My girlfriend regularly recruits engineers with advanced degrees, and someone with no work experience is just another kid with a degree. Stop being a cluless B, we aren't talking about a degree in an unrelated field.

I have a PhD in engineering, and employers ABSOLUTELY value your dissertation research as real-world experience. I also now work in workforce development in STEM fields, and work with employers who hire and they are desperate for PhDs in STEM fields from reputable programs (except life sciences - whole separate issue).

OP, $150 is a good starting salary for a new PhD. $86K is also fine. I have fellow PhD grads who have taken jobs (non-postdoc jobs) ranging from $75K-$250K right out of grad school at prestigious employers. Those going into policy got paid less, those going into financial services/consulting got paid more, those going into engineering/pharma got paid $100K+.

Two things I would think about: 1) your first salary will determine salary for all your future jobs. Starting at $86K means that even if you move to a higher COL area, employers will see that as your salary history and you will be paid less than your peers. You may want to consider taking the CA job for 2 years, and then moving to a lower COL area - this will allow you to negotiate a better salary in the lower COL area because of your history. 2) For many PhDs, the first job you take locks you into an industry. So look beyond this first job and think about what you want potential future earnings to bring, and if you want to stay in that industry for many years. Some PhD folks break out and shift directions after their first job, but this is really a minority - most are now "set" as experts in that area.

Remember, your career is 30+ years, your first job may only be 2 years, and think long-term, not short term, about the direction your first job will take you in.

Curious what field you are in with those salaries - as an engineer with a PhD in consulting, it has always been a small bump in pay but never seemed to be a huge differentiator. Maybe, I am getting screwed.

PP here. Friends who went from PhD to consulting (Mckinsey, etc) started at $200K, with yearly bonuses expected to good performance. Same for financial services at top firms, although the bonuses there are typical several times annual salary if you have a good year. Only friend who went to hedge fund started at $250K base salary (bonus in the millions each year - clearly my wealthiest friend). Policy friends and non-profits started around $75K. Pharma friends $90-120K. Govt contractor friends started $85-100K. Other technical jobs usually started $90-120K. All my friends are in large-ish metro areas, so I don't have a feel for salaries in smaller markets like Kansas City, MO.

As another PP noted, each field "tops out" at different salary levels, and salary compression seems to happen for many folks at around $150K, and definitely as they approach $200K.