Putting transferable Ph.D. skills to work

Author

Peterson, Maryclaire

Author_Institution

Entergy Services, Inc., New Orleans, LA, USA

Volume

28

Issue

6

fYear

2009

Firstpage

8

Lastpage

9

Abstract

The doctoral education process has typically brought about many misconceptions regarding the practicality of the Ph.D. degree. The Ph.D., by definition, requires mastery of a specific subject and expansion of the existing body of knowledge. Many professionals believe this small scope of research and contribution is far less practical for the upcoming engineer as compared to four equivalent years in practice. It is believed that Ph.D. graduates are only suitable candidates for academia and research. However, beyond the narrow-scoped dissertation, the doctoral education teaches desirable practical skills for the practicing engineer that are not emphasized in either the tightly packed undergraduate program or the hectic under-staffed corporate world.

Keywords

continuing education; engineering education; further education; teaching; Ph.D. degree; doctoral education teaching process; engineering practice; hectic under-staffed corporate world; narrow-scoped dissertation; practical skills; undergraduate program; Collaboration; Economics; Education; Educational institutions; Educational programs; Innovation management; Laboratories; Multitasking; Teamwork; Time factors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Potentials, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0278-6648

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MPOT.2009.934889

Filename

5310136