PhD and industry jobs

[Spectrum]

I won't go into my personal story as to why I'm even asking this question (which I never thought that I would ever ask).

 

Some industry jobs seem very interesting, others seem awful (i.e consulting, Amazon, Zibbit). This prompts me to ask two questions:

 

1) Is it possible to target only interesting industry jobs that you are a "good fit" for and expect to get one of them?

 

2) For going into industry is there any advice which differs from the typical advice with regards to choosing a PhD program?

 

I'm only talking about jobs which require a PhD.

[startz]

In general, yes you can target. It requires more flexibility and individual effort because many industry jobs don't go through the ASSA and may not even be listed in J.O.E.

 

Industry jobs care somewhat less about the academic merits of your dissertation. They often care more about your demonstrated ability to get things done on time, to communicate well, be a team player, etc. Some industry jobs may put particular emphasis on technical skills (programming, big data,...)

[Kaysa]

1) Yes, this is what networking is for

 

2) All the advice differs. Industry jobs are all about presentation, communication, and the ability to complete complex technical tasks (in that order)

 

Do not pursue a PhD in economics if your goal is industry. There are a number of excellent masters programs in applied analytics that provide superior training and networking for industry. These candidates can run circles around even the best PhD candidates.