Second Exec-MBA Vs PhD?

Question

To give you a little background, I am 30 years old, completed my Exec-MBA in a top B-school in India(IIM), working in a top IT company. Now thinking about "what next?" in my pursuit for knowledge, I'm not sure what I want to do next. A PhD in Strategic Management(that was my major in my MBA) Vs a second-exec-MBA from another top school.

While a PhD in Strategic sounds exciting, I'm not sure how much it will help me in achieving my goal of becoming a CEO of top IT company in another 5-10 years.

Any suggestion/insight will be definitely helpful. Please advise.

Answer 1

Since you have done your MBA from a top B school in India and your major subject interest is Strategic Management I would suggest you to do a more specialised Doctorate degree rather than a general PHD. Information Technology or Management Information Systems is one of business management areas related where there is a huge demand for professionals. Rather a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) would be more useful in your case.Check out the source given it will give you a better understanding. Cheers !

Answer 2

As I read your question, you can't get an MBA in Clinical Neuropsychology. ;) Every career into which you enter will always require money and funding. They all have a business dimension. Many psychologists who enter the field are often surprised and sometime dismayed at the business and financial aspects of practice. But if you think that social work is "money-centered", wait until you get your MBA and work in business. You need to go with the path in which you have skills, are consistent with your values, and that you will find meaningful. If you find it emotionally challenging to work in social work, see that as an opportunity to grow through that experience rather than avoiding it. You may benefit for therapy yourself. After all, all therapists need to undergo their own therapy. You seem to be a people person, with an interest -- perhaps a calling to --in human development and service, although you may not yet have found the right job expression of it. There also seems to be some energy for you in research. What holds you back from pursuing that? Management of a business unit is an altogether different field. You would not be serving people interests, but business interests. Would you really be happy and find it meaningful? Before you pursue a business career, I recommend that you do informational interviews about the nature of management and organizational politics and systems to see if this would be a long term interest. Whatever you do, investigate your options, then make an informed decision. Once you start down a track, you'll know whether that's right for you.

Answer 3

Where are you looking at doing your Ph.D.? You say you completed your Exec-MBA from one of the IIMs? Perhaps you were referring to successful completion of the PGP-X program? Although a lot of premier B-schools in India will accept your PGP-X and grant you admission to doctoral level programs, such as say the Fellowship Programme in Management offered at the IIMs, I really doubt if you could gain admission to a Ph.D. programme offered by an UGC recognised university. What you get at the end of successful completion of the PGP-X is an award and not a degree.