MgmtPhD1

Mainly I was concerned about the possibility of receiving decent academic job offers in locations that would not work for me, but not receiving any in locations that would be feasible.

Thank you to everyone who has replied. To clarify I am not restricted to one specific area, but there would need to be some medium to large city within driving distance, rather than a university that is in a very rural area without any economy beyond the university itself in the area. My partner can relocate but I cannot relocate him to where there are no non-academic jobs as he is not an academic. Does this seem reasonable or should I be concerned that I would be too restricted and not find a job? I would probably rather go back to consulting than to do a teaching-only job although something that is half research and half teaching would be fine. I do feel very committed to research and am really enjoying my research thus far, but feel like the expectation is that you cannot have family if you are committed to academia. When I applied to graduate programs the location issue was not a huge problem, as there was only 1 program I was interested in that was in a location that would not have been acceptable that I eliminated from my list, so I am not sure if I'm being overly concerned.

Why do you want to pursue your research interests within the framework of OB (rather than in some other framework)? Business schools often take applicants from a variety of backgrounds and a quantitative background (especially if it involves coursework in statistics and experience working with data) is often useful. However, you really need to articulate why you want to pursue a PhD in OB and connect your research interests and past experiences to the school's focus. Has your past education/work caused you to become curious about a particular research question that is best addressed at Stanford (/whatever other schools') OB Dept? Have you read the OB literature, and after reading it realized that it interests you more than other fields? You really need to address such questions in a convincing manner. Also since you mentioned Stanford, have you considered this program? STVP : Research : Doctoral Studies To me, this looks like a more natural fit for you than an OB Dept, but of course you know your interests best. I wouldn't get a recommendation from someone you only sort of know. If you think you have time to get to know the professor better, you can contact him/her and express your interests and see if you can meet to discuss research of help him/her with some RA work. However, I'm not sure if you have enough time for that at this point.

Also I am not sure if it is best to just focus on academics/research, or if I should do some consulting or internship on the side (perhaps over the summer). My preference is an academic placement so I don't want to divert too much time from that goal, but at the same time it might be good to maintain some consulting/private sector skills in case the academic placement does not materialize.

Thank you everyone who has replied. My concern is general insecurities about spending so many years in a program where the outcome is so uncertain. Also I am willing to relocate after the program but would have to consider my partner's career so certain locations (such as very rural places without any non-academic jobs in the area) would just not work. I don't think my standards for the rank of the university are unusually high, but I would want something tenure-track (ie not adjunct) that pays enough to live on and in a location where my partner can find a job. If I cannot get a job that meets those criteria, I'd probably rather go back to the private-sector. Are my expectations reasonable? It seems that everyone is so accomplished and dedicated that I'm concerned that I just won't live up to standards.

Hello- I was wondering if there are decent private-sector options as a fallback if one pursues a PhD in Management and fails to find a suitable academic placement. I do prefer an academic research position as a professor which is why I would prefer a PhD to an MBA. However, I know that the academic market is rough and would like to know if there is a decent fallback option for those who fail to place. Assume a top-10 program.