DBA & The Next Career Move

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by statsman, Aug 3, 2014.

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  1. statsman

    statsman New Member

    Do you think a part-time, distance learning (or mixed, with the availibility of campus visits for face-to-face interactions) UK DBA will be of any help for an international applicant to switch to an international career? Or just to put it simply, would such a degree be helpful in landing a new position in the UK or perhaps in the US or Canada?

    Regards,
     
  2. jotucker83

    jotucker83 New Member

    A career in what, academia? If you are working in the private sector or a public corporation there's no need for a PhD in Business nor a DBA, an MBA is pretty much the highest that you need to go in that aspect. If you are looking to work in academia, teach, etc., then depending on what type of institution you want to work in (private/public 4 year, community college, online university, grade school) would depend upon what institution you should choose.
     
  3. statsman

    statsman New Member

    Thank you for the reply. Since I already hold a MSc degree, I want my next degree programme to be at the doctoral level. This is also for my personal satisfaction. As for the career goals, I want to keep my range as wide as I can so that I can be open to any opportunity both to continue as a professional or switch to academia, or perhaps both at the same time by having a part time position with a higher education institution.
     
  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I don't know your field but some companies are willing to pay for a PhD if it is in a field that requires a PhD (e.g. Financial mathematics, Engineering, Mathematics, etc).

    A "light" general DBA will not do much for you unless it comes from a top tier school. Even for part time teaching, the demand is always in more quantitative and technical fields (e.g accounting, finance) than soft fields (e.g. HR, Human Behaviour, etc).

    I am also concerned about the amount of DBAs that are out there. As the DBA becomes the new MBA, its value will decrease with time.
     
  5. statsman

    statsman New Member

    Thank you, RFValve. I have a technical background (stats) and most probably my DBA study will focus on a research in the areas of Business Intelligence & Analytics and/or Knowledge Management. I see your point regarding the increasing popularity of the DBA, which may lead to a decrease in the value of it, however there is still much way to go to reach that saturation level, as far as I see from my investigation about this. Even in the UK, which may well be counted as the country in which DBA has been established by far the most, there are still relatively few DBA programmes when compared to MBAs or Business/Management PhDs. And yes, I prefer to keep myself hopeful :)

    Regards,
     
  6. Warpnow

    Warpnow Member

    I don't think a DBA will help you unless you have a very solid resume to back it up. I think multiple executive level positions with top companies. The DBA is the terminal degree in business, so seeing it on a resume should mean the person is an extreme expert. If your resume doesn't align with that it will just make people shrug it off.
     
  7. statsman

    statsman New Member

    Well said. In the professional life, every academic qualification needs to be supported by real career progress and results, normally.
     
  8. jotucker83

    jotucker83 New Member

    To chime back in here, from my research, a DBA or PhD in Business to be seen as "a major expert in the field" stops at the Master's level in my opinion such as an MBA, Master's in Accounting, Master's in Tax, etc., in combination with a major certification such as a CPA, CFA, etc. An MBA/CPA, MBA/CFA is seen as the major expert in the field in my opinion for the most part. The only reason you should consider a DBA or PhD in Business was if you were going into academia, if you plan to not go into academia I think that the DBA or PhD in Business is sort of a waste of time and money.
     
  9. statsman

    statsman New Member

    I respect your observations about the mba + certification profiles. However, when it comes to DBA on the other hand, it is not primarily aimed at academic career. Yes, one can switch to academia with a DBA, but it is mainly for those pursuing professional careers and desiring a doctoral level academic study without leaving that career path. That's why DBA is classified as a "professional doctorate" and that makes it "equivalent to but different from" a PhD, basically.

    Regards,
     

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