Steve Tippins outlines when a PhD actually matters: tenure-track faculty roles, pharmaceutical research, school superintendent positions. He also explores why people pursue one anyway, like proving a doubting teacher wrong, and shares a client story about that revenge motivation.
Is it worth it? The answer is, I don't know. It's up to you. What do you want? Let's start with looking at what's right for you. So when is a Ph.D. worth it? Well, obviously, if you want a tenure-track position at a major institution, they're going to require a doctorate. Your field might require a doctorate. I'm going to be a research scientist at a pharmaceutical company. Most of those people have Ph.D.s. Or I want to be a superintendent of a school system. Most superintendents now have doctorates. You might say, I value the identity of having a doctorate. I value what it shows the world I was able to accomplish. I've had a number of clients who said, I'm getting a doctorate because my third grade teacher said I would never amount to anything or would never graduate from high school. And this is my way to show my third grade teacher, who unfortunately is probably dead by the time they did this, but show my third grade teacher that they were wrong. Drop the word "help" in the comments, and I'll send you the link to our free dissertation help community.
