Doctorate in Business from German Business School - Will I be able to find a job?

I am an American with an MBA in the process of interviewing for a Research Assistantship at the Top Business School in Germany. It is AACSB and Equis accredited. It is a great opportunity... or is it? I would really like to learn more about the global business environment and also have the opportunity to learn a 2nd language and live abroad. So... after I finish this doctorate program (dr. rer. pol.) and hopefully publish a couple articles will I be able to get a teaching job at a university (doesnt have to be top tier) back in the US (which is my goal, i dont want to work in the industry (except maybe some consulting on the side)? Or other countries abroad? Or will this be a waste of my time?

 

Technically, yes. But then it gets complicated.

The degree itself is probably fine. But...what you're trying to do is based almost entirely on the relationships you build and the research you conduct. When you graduate, will you have met and worked with colleagues so that you'll be able to pursue employment opportunities? Will the research you conduct (and will likely continue after graduation) be relevant to universities who might consider you? Will your experiences translate to capabilities related to leading other doctoral candidates (in a system in which you yourself did not go through)?

It's hard to break into traditional academia with a nontraditional approach. This includes taking your degree from a foreign school, just as it includes taking your degree from a distance learning program. Your doctoral degree program--your apprenticeship--will have taken place outside the very thing you're hoping to apprentice in. That can't be good.

But nothing is absolute. As your German hosts about your situation and goals. Get their take on things. I'm sure they've seen more than one of you before.

 

The degree itself is fine but the question you ask is hard to answer, the risk can be minimized if the degree is in a field in high demand such accounting, finance or IT. A general business degree would be harder to sell but the same can be said about any PhD earned from an American school.

I have been in hiring committees and two things most look at are: Name of the school and ranking of journals for your publications. If the German school has a good name and you have a good publication record then risk of not getting a job is lower.

 

How many publications would you look for from a PhD grad? From journals such as the Jounrnal of International Management, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and Journal of Operations Management be adequate? I would be focusing on procurement and international business. The school assures me that their graduates are under high demand and I would have no problem finding a job, but none have ever tried to come back to the US to teach before either. I know that when I was in my MBA I was in a student hiring committee and we favored a candidate that was from the London School of Economics over domestic candidates.... I appreciate your thoughts.

 

Most research based schools look at the Financial Times journals list. The link below:


45 Journals used in FT Research Rank - FT.com

Some research schools use also the Thomson reuters journal list
http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jloptions.cgi?PC=master

If you are able to publish in any of the FT journals, your chances of getting hired are very high as most of the ranked schools need publications in these journals in order to climb in the rankings.

If you are interested in a teaching only university, low ranked or non ranked school, any peer reviewed journals would do.

Salaries are considerably higher at research universities, most start at 120K plus compared to the 50K you get at the typical no name school.

One or two publications in any FT journals should do to get you an assistant professor position.

 

Just one needs to be careful when describing a Business school in Europe.
Unlike in the US, here the number of highly regarded schools is quite small. So, people can easily figure out which school you will be (or have already) interviewed with.
I might consider myself as an expert in European schools.
One thing about this school in Germany; they have strong ties with US schools (such as Kellogg, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU etc).
I would probably recommend for a doctoral level studies.
Another thing, (this one is negative) this school is no longer listed in the top European business schools in FT's last rankings. I still wonder why..

 

Rankings

LLL,

I would be interested to get more of your feedback. The school was #6 in FT MGMT rating in 2011. 2012 they were left off because of changes in the program due to the bologna process. They will be back in 2013. The school is closely tied with top US schools, and I will be able to study for several months there if I need to. Also... What is the job field like for phds in supply chain/ intl business ?

Thank you.

 

I assume you're referring to WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management. If that is the case it is a phenomenal institution and the faculties of business schools here should be aware of the school.
You say you want to teach so does this mean you don't want to do research? Research is what most universities are interested in, teaching is secondary. That said, you should be able to land a job at a university with a doctorate from WHU AND published research.

 

I might be able to help you because as I work in this field. Supply chain departments tend to be the smallest department at most business schools. The good news is that not many people do PhDs in Supply Chain but you also have competition from people with degrees in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. The prospects are fair but I would combine it with a support function in demand such as IT to broad your options.

 

Good Feedback!

Thanks everyone - and I appreciate the feedback! Yes it is WHU. I know I am aware of the school (I frequent to Germany) and they are very well ranked - however, I know the US is leery of foreign degrees. And yes, I do want to do research as well as teach. I just want to make sure I "look before I leap" as I have a really good job, house, family, friends here... so I want to calculate my risks very carefully. They are very well connected and I spoke with them this morning about publications and conferences, contests, etc. Im just wondering if I complete my PhD there, will I have to work in Germany or even Europe for a couple years to get experience or do you think I could apply and get a asst professorship immediately? Im not sure where I want to end up locationwise, Im flexible. Anyone out there that knows about the structure of European PhDs - will I be able to get the amount of teaching experience I would as a PhD student in the US? In speaking with them I think I would be teaching a class session here or there, but that would be about it. Is this standard?

Again, many thanks to all for your valuable feedback.

 

Hi there,
I'm sorry that I am replying now as I've seen your post just now.
I am not familiar with your field of interest but I am a PhD student (researcher) in Belgium in organizational psy.
What I can say for Europe, you start publishing at very early stage of your studies, most of the times after your first year in Germany. That's an absolute advantage.
However, IMO, top US universities are still more conservative and consistent with their hiring strategy that limits chances for PhDs from Europe.
You may consider post-doc options in the US or utilize the international network of WHU, which has strong ties with some reputable schools in the US.
Teaching experience however here in Europe might be relatively less. For example, I have no teaching obligations, no course load, but what's expected is just to publish..
Publish or perish here well applies..

Also I found it useful to emphasize, doctoral degree itself is a symbol of status, that you may come across many professional executives in corporates with Dr. title.
So, don't be surprised if you see most of the PhDs working outside of academia in Germany. So, external PhD is almost a norm there. You see here only few internal researchers vs. large number of external students in Germany.

You may also want to check the placements by googling the names who completed PhDs in the department you mentioned.


Good luck with it.

 

Just a quick reply to this post - the German PhD program that accepted me - had to rescind their offer due to the ZAB. The German govt (ZAB) has to check all your degrees before you can be admitted from a foreign country - I figured being from the US and having degrees from good schools, I would have no issue. But I transferred in community college credits in my undergrad - and Germany does not recognize community college credits (they view them as a trade school) and they told WHU I was "unqualified". With a BA and AACSB MBA... This was really upsetting - but hopefully a heads up for someone else looking to study in Germany - dont take comm. college credits!