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Most people find Year 3 to be the most mentally challenging time of their PhD. You are just starting to define your research agenda and projects, but the pace is slow and the feedback is almost always negative. Around this point, PhDs begin to question their ability to write a dissertation, become an academic, or even do useful work in general. Below is advice I wish I would have gotten prior to my (very rough) 3rd year in a Management (Macro) PhD program. You'll soon see that writing a paper is just your small contribution to a conversation that the rest of the field is having, nothing more and nothing less. Thus, you need to be (1) interested in the topic of conversation and (2) understand how the rest of the field discusses topics and is expecting the conversation to evolve. Most PhDs with bad advisors don't fully understand the critical importance of point (2). The current state of our field is built by a complex social process of egos, ideas, and tradition which is unlike any other industry. You can easily see this in the field's large amount of conventions that would be obscure, counterintuitive, or bizarre to laypeople and even other academics. For most people, it takes a year or two to figure out how to come up with ideas faculty will find interesting, how to write papers are written to appeal to reviewers, how topics evolve in a predictable way, etc. Don't be hard on yourself when it takes you a while to figure this out. Around the middle of year 4, assess if you meet both criteria (1) and (2). For example, you may realize that you like what you research but learn that you find the entire writing, review, and publication process glacially slow, overly focused on almost useless theory, beholden to fads, reliant on bad science, and that you've made no meaningful contribution when all is said and done. If you (1) lose the fire for topics of interest or (2) realize that you don't like the often dysfunctional academic production function, you should ask yourself whether you want to do research academia for the next 40 years. The job essentially doesn't change as you get more senior-- you just do a bit more teaching and service. If you aren't energized by (1) and (2), it can be a miserable life. There are many tenured professors in this position. If you fall into this camp, start looking at adjacent industry jobs, which would almost certainly be a better fit, allow more mobility, give you more locational flexibility, and often have relatively higher pay once you get five years out of your PhD. Industry has other issues (e.g., less autonomy, less temporal flexibility, less pure intellectual engagement), but in the long run, you'll almost always be judged on your current skills, ability to learn, ability to work well in a team, and by what you can produce. Make sure to find the best fit for you (and your loved ones!).

Hello Friend, I am from India & a Engg Graduate ( Production ) with MBA ( Marketing ), 10 Years of Work Exp which includes 2 Years in Supply Chain and Balance 8 Years in B2B Industrial Marketing with Expouser to OIl & Gas,Power & Automobile Industry. My Academics Scores -Graduation 66 % & MBA 61 %. I have inclination towards research and in past have been a Visiting Faculty for MBA Subjects. Interested to do PHD Strategy in Mechanical Industry Domain. Kindly guide me whether my Profile is Strong enough to get admission in top 50 Colleges in the World ( Few Colleges Name if provided are highly appreciated ) also let me know the Safe minimum GMAT score to Target this 50 Colleges. Thanking in Advance. Regards, Sandesh

What do you do if you love econ, are passionate about teaching and research, can't think of doing anything else with your life, but can't get into a good program? My undergrad GPA is average (3.5) and GRE is not stellar (163Q, 158V) . I start a one-year masters soon but I'm sure I'm not going to finish top of the class there as well. Also, I'm not an American citizen. I'm sure I can get good recos and probably manage to get somewhere in top 50-70. But is there a point? A lot of people tell me there isn't. Do these places produce any good research at all? Does someone from a college that's ranked 50 have any shot at getting a decent academic job? What about industry? Will I be screwed if I hold a PhD from a college not well known, considering that I won't be able to get a job as a professor easily and I'll be over-qualified for most jobs in industry? Will I at least be able work at a community college or something somewhere in the USA (keep in mind I'm not American)?

I developed an interest in academia late in my college years, but went the CPA route following graduation as I didn't attend a prestigious program and all of my professors were industry experts. Having been in industry for several years now, I'm exploring the idea again. I attended a small private regional university in Southeastern U.S., and dual majored in Accounting and Finance with a 3.96 GPA. I developed close relationships with my prof's in undergrad, but they are not researchers. They do have their PhD's if that is of any help. I interned with a large private company for over a year; spent two years in the SF bay area with a large regional firm in tax, and have spent the last two years in industry with publicly traded companies. I currently have a manager title in a blended role with tax and financial responsibilities. My interests are in tax and managerial. I also took a lot of Psych electives in undergrad, and think I would be interested in behavioral research. I haven't sat for the GMAT, but I did well on the CPA and expect I could study well for the GMAT. I don't have much of a math background and will need coursework regardless. My question is if it's worth the time and cost of pursing a master's for research exposure and LOR's or if I should go another route? I'm mostly interested in teaching, but think I might enjoy research as well. My brother is an Econ PhD. so I have some familiarity with it, but no real exposure. I'm married now and the primary breadwinner, so cost is certainly a factor. Any advice or perspective is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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.