There has been a lot of chatter on Brazen Careerist, Life Without Pants, and Untemplater about the pro’s and con’s of returning to school to pursue another degree.  In an interview at Untemplater,  Alexandra Levit says she is cautious about the idea of getting an MBA – unless you want to be a brand manager.  Matt Cheuvront flatly says “I’ll never go back to school again” on his blog. I’ve already weighed in on my opinion of whether or not an MBA is worth it.

Whether or not you need to either continue your education or go back to get an additional degree depends on what you want to do.  There are certain fields where self-study won’t get you very far.  If you want to be a lawyer, you need to go to law school. And if you want to be a doctor, medical school is on your to-do list.  If you want to teach in a college or university on a full-time basis, be a research scientist, or a clinical psychologist, you will need what is called a “terminal degree” in your field.  That is, you will need a doctoral degree such as a Ph.D., an Ed.D., a Psy.D, or a D.B.A. (Harvard’s version of a Ph.D. in business).

Getting a doctoral degree is hard work, can take several years beyond a Master’s degree, and is at times, a humiliating experience. Do not pursue it because you think it will be cool or because your high-achieving parents both have theirs.  Go after the doctorate if you are committed to a field that requires it as the ticket of admission.

So if you have determined to follow this path, here is some very practical advice:

1. Have a dissertation topic BEFORE you apply. Start the program with a clear idea of what your dissertation topic will be – in fact, you shouldn’t even being thinking about applying unless you’ve picked a topic. And in the interview process, be certain that your topic will be acceptable.  I changed my topic in the middle and it cost me an additional year of time in my doctoral program.
2. Finish…fast. Your main objective is to finish as quickly as possible. If you’ve identified your dissertation topic when you start, you can pick your elective courses to align with that topic and you can focus your assignments in your required courses to help jump start your dissertation.
3. De-mystify the dissertation. Think of your dissertation as simply a long paper.  It is NOT your life’s work.  It does not have to be brilliant.  I just needs to be done.  Failure to heed this piece of advice will put in you in the heap of people who have gone before you who are now “ABD” – All But Dissertation!
4. And now, the single most important act in your doctoral career is…selecting a dissertation chair that will help you get done. Your chair needs to have at least a supportive interest in your topic.  However, the litmus test for picking the person to chair your dissertation committee is the answer to the following question: What was your dissertation experience like in your doctoral program?  If that person, got their dissertation done in a reasonable period of time and relatively painlessly with minimal aggravation, that person is a viable option.  If you find out that they had a miserable experience, took years to finish, wanted to take out a contract on their chair and committee members, or needed extended therapy, run away very quickly because you will have the same experience.  Trust me.