More Than Just a Title: Rethinking the Value of a PhD

I remember a couple of years ago now I was waiting in the GP surgery to collect my prescription and when the receptionist called my name over, I recall her saying “Mr Ashford, your prescription is ready.”. Now as someone with a PhD, you know that situations like this happens a lot. You don’t want to correct them and say “I’m actually Dr …” because you know you just sound arrogant and you’re showing off. But on this occasion, considering that my actual title was on the slip in front of them, I thought I had to say something. In response, I said to them, “Actually, it’s Dr Ashford”. And so they apologised in a friendly and professional way however, I distinctly remember one of her colleagues turning round and saying something along the lines of “look at you and your fancy title”.

It’s fair to say I was a little taken back by this, and it got me thinking. Does she have a point? Was I trying to show off? No, I just wanted all my 5 years of hard work to be appreciated so that my title was honoured.

Now, I’m sure situations like this happen all the time. Unless you’re in academia where you’re surrounded with people with PhDs, chances are very few people around you actually have one, and it’s easy to get overlooked. Focusing on the other side of the spectrum, if you are applying for a job and people see your PhD, they may assume that you’re overqualified. Some people may put off from hiring someone with a PhD by automatically thinking they are “overqualified”. Why exactly?

I came across an interesting article by CheekyScientist called “How PhDs Can Avoid The Overqualified Label To Get Hired”. The article essentially lays out the issues as to why employers are stuck in this mindset that PhD == Overqualified. Turns out, the main reason is that, in some cases, PhDs are apparently automatically labelled as overqualified by default.

Here is a conveniently summary taken from the article:

Employers’ apprehensions about overqualified candidates stem from fears of high turnover, disputes about early promotions, and a lack of engagement. There’s a worry that candidates with extensive backgrounds will find the work unchallenging, leading to job dissatisfaction and a disruption in the workplace dynamic.

Because PhDs make up such a small part of the job market, employer don’t quite know where to put you. Having worked with job recruiters in the past, I can definitely say this is the case. To them, a PhD and academia is just some kind of mystery place where they have such a poor understanding of the system. And in many ways, I can understand why. According to some stats, only 2% of the US population have a PhD. Chances are,they properly went to university themselves and did not progress beyond undergraduate degree. They would have no idea what working in a research lab is like, what it’s like to do a postdoc (and live with the uncertainty which comes with it) or write an original piece of work in the form of a PhD thesis. So yes, they don’t get it.

One person mentioned in the article who described feeling both “overqualified and underqualified” at the same time. I can totally sympathise with this. In my experience, because people can see that you have a PhD, it comes with this expectation that, because you’re an expert in your own mini area of research, you’re only good at doing one very specific “niche” task and not very good at doing anything else. At times like these, you’re made to feel like PhDs belong in academic and not in the “real world”. Again, this is mentioned in the article where one employer could not understand why the candidate wanted to leave academia. Despite giving a good answer, they kept asking them why they wanted to leave during the interview.

Other factors which come in to play include:

• An employer may perceive you as someone making a short term commitment
• Some employers think PhDs will demand pay raises too soon
• Some fear that PhDs may struggle to adapt to the industry-mindset
• The “intimidation factor” by unintentionally intimidate hiring managers

As I close, if you’re reading this, and you happen to be an employer, this is my take-home message for you. Rather than treating a PhD as just another qualification which shows someone’s speciality in a particular area of research, think of it as a package of skill set which bring value to both yourself (the company) and the candidate. Someone who has a PhD on their CV (or resume) demonstrates a number of valuable skills. Attention to detail, diligence, independence, ability to lead, excellent writer (and reader), critical thinking, excellent problem-solving. This is just a select few from many.

For those of you reading this who are currently doing a PhD (or would like to do one) and feel like a PhD could actually lower the odds of scoring a decent job, my message is this. Don’t let this put you off. Completing a PhD is a massive personal achievement and should not be underestimated. I wrote more about this in a separate post on my personal blog. You’ll find a job and it will be worth it. You will develop so much from it, both from your career and personally.