GG2023 Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Hi guys, I'm finishing PhD in STEM in my home country and I'm thinking to try a PhD in Economics in USA (yes, a second PhD). Do you believe that is possible or having a PhD is a huge redflag for admission? Actually, I'm planning a masters degree in Economics in my home country and then applying for PhD because I need LORs from great economists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissEconomist Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) I think its important to have some additional information. How old are you? Do you have taken any Economics classes so far? What is you STEM PhD in? Is it something math-heavy like Physics/Math or more something like Biology/Chemistry? Why do you want a PhD in Economics? Academic Career or do you want a certain Job which require a PhD in Economics (for instance at a central bank)? Whats your research interest within economics? Edited April 23, 2022 by SwissEconomist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG2023 Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 5 hours ago, SwissEconomist said: I think its important to have some additional information. How old are you? Do you have taken any Economics classes so far? What is you STEM PhD in? Is it something math-heavy like Physics/Math or more something like Biology/Chemistry? Why do you want a PhD in Economics? Academic Career or do you want a certain Job which require a PhD in Economics (for instance at a central bank)? Whats your research interest within economics? I am 30 years old and my PhD is in pure mathematics. I have taken intermediate Microeconomics and basic Macroeconomics as undergraduate. I have already studied some advanced topics of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics by myself. I don't know if I want to pursue an academic career in economics, but I think this PhD can open up further opportunities for my future. At the moment, I am finishing my PhD and I can't get a job outside academia because my background is almost completely in pure mathematics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissEconomist Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 I think for an career in the private sector it would be better for you to just do an Master in Economics. With a Master in Economics and a PhD in Math you should be well qualified for most industry jobs and you don't lose another 4-6 years. I'm not even sure if a second PhD is useful if you want to do an academic career in economics. Probably also in this scenario just doing a Master and/or some self learning would be the better approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG2023 Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 1 hour ago, SwissEconomist said: I think for an career in the private sector it would be better for you to just do an Master in Economics. With a Master in Economics and a PhD in Math you should be well qualified for most industry jobs and you don't lose another 4-6 years. I'm not even sure if a second PhD is useful if you want to do an academic career in economics. Probably also in this scenario just doing a Master and/or some self learning would be the better approach. Anyway... If I decided to try a PhD in Econ at USA or Europe after the master, do you believe that age or the fact that I will already have a doctor degree will be a big redflag or do you believe that I will have a chance to get in a great school? I need to think about the PhD hypothesis because I'll need to take GRE to apply to PhD and I'd like a great GRE score. So, I need to decide if I'll already spend time preparing for the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 This doesn't make any sense. On the one hand, you want to know if you "have a chance to get in a great school." On the other hand, you are worried about the GRE even though you have a PhD in math? Sure, even a math PhD would want to spend a bit of time reviewing for the GRE, but it's not a significant barrier. The reason to get an econ PhD is because you really want to do advanced economics. If it's mostly a move for career, then follow @SwissEconomist's advice and just get a masters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG2023 Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) 35 minutes ago, startz said: This doesn't make any sense. On the one hand, you want to know if you "have a chance to get in a great school." On the other hand, you are worried about the GRE even though you have a PhD in math? Sure, even a math PhD would want to spend a bit of time reviewing for the GRE, but it's not a significant barrier. The reason to get an econ PhD is because you really want to do advanced economics. If it's mostly a move for career, then follow @SwissEconomist's advice and just get a masters. It makes sense. GRE has 3 sections. The quantitative part is very easy, but the other 2 are complicated for me. That is the reason that I will need to spend some time preparing for GRE. My idea is get in a Masters. If I really enjoy the masters, then I will try to get in PhD. Also, if I will try to get in PhD, my idea is to apply to great American universities. But, I'll only apply if I believe that I have chance. My question here is not about Masters (I'll get in the Masters), my question is if good American Universities will reject (or will be more hard to get in great American Universities) due to my age and my previous PhD. Edited April 23, 2022 by GG2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 The other two parts of the GRE don't matter very much, although they do matter a little. No one expects someone for whom English is not their first language to ace them. For some schools, the TOEFL is more important. Econ PhD programs are happy to take people whose training is outside economics, and math would certainly work. M.I.T. says, Quote Can I apply if I already have another PhD or doctoral degree? Yes. Applicants who already have a doctoral degree have been admitted in the past. Having said that, getting into a great American program is hard for everyone. Getting excellent letters really matters and they should come from people with solid academic credentials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 (edited) Please ignore 6 hours ago, Paubomon said: And I don't think that your doctorate from another country will be an obstacle to obtaining a second doctorate. The only thing I think you should get is a practical job to get theoretical research skills and practical working skills. Many companies in America offer great pay and excellent benefits, and you should only choose the best one for your career growth. Please ignore this person. The "advice" is either spam or very ignorant. Edited May 31, 2022 by Erin Removed link from the quoted text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 4 hours ago, startz said: Please ignore this person. The "advice" is either spam or very ignorant. This looks like a reply just to get the URL to a target site. I will ban this account. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annsteele Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 its a waste of time i would say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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