Hi all,
I have the option of either going for my Phd in any of our indigeneous schools or travelling abroad to get an MBA in any of the Ivy League schools. I presently have my Msc, so getting admitted wont be an issue. what do you suggest?

get accepted in the the schools first then come back to post.

Jcob:

Hi all,
I have the option of either going for my Phd in any of our indigeneous schools or travelling abroad to get an MBA in any of the Ivy League schools. I presently have my Msc, so getting admitted wont be an issue. what do you suggest?

I love topics like the above, but I would have to agree with the previous poster ( I don't want to mention his username because I am not hungry of . Indeed, get into the schools first. We can analyze tire after you've done that. Meanwhile, bear in mind that getting into an Ivy is never automatic. As they normally put it, money is the least of your wahalas.

On a lighter note, is it unemployment after your MSc that is forcing you to consider further studies? If you are already in a reasonably paid employment, then I would advise that you stick to it. But if it is your passion to do research, teach the young stars and contribute to high level knowledge, then a PhD is the way to go. Some people, unlike me, are just not motivated by pecuniary considerations. Perhaps you are one of such rare people, who knows!


T22

Going by the 2 posts above, can one safely conclude that because an Ivy League admission is hard to come by, it makes little or no sense to forfeit it should one clinch it?

The logical argument therefore should be choosing between 2 Ivy League schools and never an Ivy League school vs anything else like a job, talkless of a local PhD?

Its like comparing apples with oranges, no?

Neither.
Get some work experience, make some money, explore your passions.
Leave book to one side.

AjanleKoko:

Neither.
Get some work experience, make some money, explore your passions.
Leave book to one side.

well stated. [b]He can even become a CABA[/b]L, he doesn't have to go to school.

obowunmi:

well stated. [b]He can even become a CABA[/b]L, he doesn't have to go to school.

Actually, I was serious.
He already has a masters degree. Why doesn't he knock off for a while and get some work experience?
Life is not all about school. This is the Internet age. So much a person can learn and do outside the school system.

^^^

Do you have an idea of how long the OP might have been looking for work? Maybe you do or maybe not, but what I know is that very few people will leave their above average jobs nowadays and say they are going to pursue the uncertainty that comes with further studies. Remember, the choice is not between accepting a job offer and going for further studies. That was why I made the remark as to whether it is unemployment after MSc that is forcing the OP to pursue further studies.

In this regard, I think it would be helpful if the OP could open up.

T22

Jcob:

Hi all,
I have the option of either going for my Phd in any of our indigeneous schools or travelling abroad to get an MBA in any of the Ivy League schools. I presently have my Msc, so getting admitted wont be an issue. what do you suggest?

Your MSc may enable you enter a PhD programme in Naija; however, it guarantees nothing for admission into Ivy league schools where you will be competing against people with some of the finest paper qualifications and work experience that the world can offer. Some of these people could even have double or triple master's degrees from top schools plus PhD. Big qualifications are not uncommon these days. In fact, on naiaraland alone, there are many people on their second graduate degrees. Many Nigerians in Sweden have an average of 2-3 master's degrees because being a student of an institution is the only way they can legally stay there if they are not gainfully employed or married to oyinbo.

You can rowon with your MSc in Naija universities, but your MSc guarantees nothing what it comes to Ivy league admissions. Please be aware and plan accordingly.

T22

Is there no part-time PhD?

O boy, money is important oh

^^^

There is always a part-time PhD. In fact, that is what I plan on doing after landing that very lucrative job soon. I know a top Nigerian fashion designer who is already doing this. She does her fashion designing in Nigeria and follows her part-time PhD in the UK. She will be finishing soon.

People, like me, who are very money conscious, but also like book, should simply employ this strategy.


T22.

^^^

Can you throw more light on this ''doing PhD in the UK and working in 9ja'' thingy. Are there no residency requirements, classes etc? Or Is it via distance learning?And how reputable are the schools allowing such flexibility?

Well, many UK schools do not require students to attend classes. That is why a master's degree is typically requested before a PhD position is granted. You register as a normal PhD student, but you also let your supervisor know when both of you can meet to discuss the progress of your work. However, in this case, you cannot make the additional income that comes from teaching undergrads or acting as a research assistant to a prof.

The above is impossible in the US where you have to attend classes for the first two years before you begin research. That is why a master's degree is not needed to secure a PhD position in the US. All that is needed is a BSc.

At the moment, the UK would naturally open their doors to people who are glaringly not willing to stay in their country. This should be exploited to one's advantage. All I need now is good money. I will take advantage of it sharply.

T22.

I will suggest that you should be sincere with yourself and stay true to your own 'moral convictions'. However, one down side to this is that we tend to create imaginary 'routes of escapism' whilst been 'cognitively blind' to the truth within us.

I was recently invited to a small forum organised for Nigerian students in the US enrolled for post graduate degrees and was appalled when majority could not say in 'clear terms' what they intend to do after their course of study. Alot had this lost look in their eyes!

Also, I have also seen people take the 'Phd route' as a means of 'escapism' mentioned above. In this regard, there are certain questions, I would throw at the poster of which only him can provide sincere answers to

What do you intend to do career wise? Do you want to remain along the lines of 'academia' or build a career in business? If you answer to this question is the former then perhaps a Phd could suffice. But, yet again we can still argue critically that maybe, a Phd at this point in your academic career might not make much impact in the long term. This is because in ideal terms, a Phd is a specialist qualification that should also be backed up by relevant years of scholarly research and academic write up and not just be another 'qualification in your kitty'


Secondly, if the answer to the question above relates to the  latter, then maybe the MBA would come handy but yet again how years of 'experience' does the poster have? One thing we all need to bear in mind is that having all these qualifications-Ivy league of not does not make one a magician over night. Rather, career acceleration is backed by a myriad  of several factors including experience, networks et al.

Most at the end of the day just  find themselves in a 'Catch 22' situation if they are not able to define from the start what they want to do. Finally my second question is this: After the 'Phd or Ivy league MBA' , what next?

May God open our eyes of understanding and teach us to define our own destinies and not follow the crowd

^^
Very wise words.
I consider most postgraduate pursuits as a getaway clause. Nigerians especially have done well with academic work; time to get out there and get experience doing stuff.

deenee:

I will suggest that you should be sincere with yourself and stay true to your own 'moral convictions'. However, one down side to this is that we tend to create imaginary 'routes of escapism' whilst be 'cognitively blind' to the truth within us.

I was recently invited to a small forum organised for Nigerian students in the US enrolled for post graduate degrees and was appalled when majority could not say in 'clear terms' what they intend to do after their course of study. Alot had this lost look  in their eyes!

Also, I have also seen people take the 'Phd route' as a means of 'escapism' mentioned above. In this regard, there are certain questions, I would throw at the poster of which only him can provide sincere answers to

What do you intend to do career wise? Do you want to remain along the lines of 'academia' or build a career in business? If you answer to this question is the former then perhaps a Phd could suffice. But, yet again we can still argue critically that maybe, a Phd at this point in your academic career might not make much impact in the long term. T[b]his is because in ideal terms, a Phd is a specialist qualification that should also be backed up by relevant years of scholarly research and academic write up [/b]and not just be another 'qualification in your kitty'


Secondly, if the answer to the question above relates to the  latter, then maybe the MBA would come handy but yet again how years of 'experience' does the poster have? One thing we all need to bear in mind is that having all these qualifications-Ivy league of not does not make one a magician over night. Rather, career acceleration is backed by a myriad  of several factors including experience, networks et al.

Most at the end of the day just  find themselves in a 'Catch 22' situation if they are not able to define from the start what they want to do. Finally my second question is this: After the 'Phd or Ivy league MBA' , what next?

May God open our eyes of understanding and teach us to define our own destinies and not follow the crowd 

Hey deenee, happy nu year.

Please, note that, nowadays, many people take the PhD route when they find it hard to get a job. This indeed has been the case in recent years. It is one of the very few strategies that legal immigrants employ to remain in the US, EU, Asia and what have you. Most people dread the sadness that comes from going back to naija and competing for jobs that are not even available sef. The PhD positions offer some pecuniary and immigration advantages, which make them extremely appealing to people. I know a guy who would not have had good cash to start life with his wife, had he not decided to accept a PhD offer from one of the schools here. So, I think it is a strategy that is well worth it. In the worst case scenario, universities can never stop recruiting top researchers. Therefore, PhD holders will always lead at least an average life. They will always be in employment. Don't mind some of us who are actually supposed to be doing one PhD or the other, but the greed of making big money won't just let us see road .

Maybe the highlighted skipped your mind, but I would like to remind you that excellent scholarly research capabilities are mostly achieved during or after a PhD. There are very few other ways to build academic research experience. For anyone who wants to become a university researcher, the smoothest route is to enroll for a PhD. It is as straight and simple as that. Almost all, if not all, well published scholars started real research during or after their PhD degrees. If the OP says he wants to do academic research, then the best thing he can do is to register for the first year of a good PhD programme. This will help him try out his research acumen, intellectual agility and creative sagacity.

Academic research is not the regular MBA or MSc, it is much much deeper and requires plenty of dedication and creativity. A good PhD tests these skills.

T22.

Compliments T22. Hope you are doing good?

You have raised some valid points here which is worthy of discourse.

First and foremost, you have mentioned amongst other things that a 'Phd' offers some 'advantages' which is quite correct but you have refused to create a 'short term compensation vs  long term gain analysis' which makes your view 'slightly relative'. Hence, anybody body that opts for a Phd because he or she is afraid of 'the sadness that comes from going back to naija and competing for jobs that are not even available sef' is just creating an imaginary route of escapism and will sooner or later wake to the reality on ground and that leads to a vital  question: Phd at what cost?


Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to discourage the poster from exploring any of the alternative routes mentioned in the original post but more often, people have come to me for advice and what I have deduced from interactions with them is a 'scripted career path' based on some spurious analogies and accumulation of qualifications and as I have mentioned if the desire of the poster is academic research then a Phd is of course required. If not then he is on the wrong path.