To PhD or not to PhD?

By Richard Lilly (PhD)

This topic comes up every few years; when engaged geoscience undergraduates who have thrived in the university learning environment can't decide whether to join industry or follow their passion for research and apply for a PhD. Some are even worried that a PhD qualification will actually harm their chances of achieving a career in the minerals industry.

This is because unfortunately even today the message delivered by some academics is that 'if you do a PhD you won't be able to get a job in the minerals industry' and I have (also unfortunately) heard from some minerals industry professionals that they 'don't even consider applicants with PhDs'.

I personally don't agree with the overly generalised statements above and am of the view that getting a job depends entirely on the individual and the role being applied for.

Surely the industry is missing a trick if it ignores this source of highly trained future geoscience professionals?

The frustrating stereotype of the 'too technical to be of use' and ' impractical' PhD graduate still persists in the minerals industry, and it is true that some PhD topics are so specific that the potential benefit to a company by employing such a technical specialist may not be initially be recognised as adding value.

I have personal experience of this during the first few years working in the exploration industry after completing my PhD. I had so much to learn that I didn't feel the PhD had benefited me much. I didn't put 'Dr.' on my business card and I felt conscious of being labeled a 'smarty pants' by other team members if I spoke up about a technical aspect. So I put my head down and concentrated on getting boots-on-the-ground experience and was a little bitter about how useful my years of post-graduate study had been.

However, with time I realised that the project management, technical, communication and writing skills I had developed during the PhD were the real benefit to myself and the company. In following years I felt (and still feel) very proud to have completed a PhD and I have no doubt that it is helping me to achieve personal and professional aims.

The question of 'to PhD or not to PhD' has been asked to me many times in the last few months and is especially pertinent now as so many more opportunities are opening up for geoscience graduates than at any time in the last few years.

Australia has one of the world's worst track-records of effective collaboration between industry and academia and I wonder if a more positive employment record of former PhD students entering the minerals industry (for example) might benefit everyone and start to break down long-established silos?

Academia could obviously assist by increasing the number of applied PhD studies with industry partners, a topic I have spent many years trying to encourage (full article here).

Unfortunately applied projects are still commonly viewed by academia as less valuable because they don't lead to as many research grants or high-impact papers; the only KPI that really matters in the university environment (and possibly the root cause for a lot of the issues of divergence between academia and industry discussed here).

However, I am pleased to see that these days almost all universities insist on PhD candidates completing a required number of hours per year on training, workshops or activities which are unrelated to their field of study; a positive effort to produce more rounded post-graduates. Two to three month secondments and/or vacation roles for students with industry as an integrated part of their PhD studies are the next step and are being encouraged and enacted by some universities.

It is also becoming more common to see geoscientists return to university to complete PhDs after gaining some industry experience (and are often among the most successful PhD students), although the significant drop in salary can be a deal-breaker to many who have considered the move. Completing a PhD part-time while still working in the industry is another option which may look good at first, but the prolonged time-scales (sometimes as long as 8-10 years), costs and shear amount of work involved for the individual make it a very challenging path.

The question remains of how do we get past the stereotypes and mixed messages?

Modern Career paths are often compared to a map of the London Underground; where you can start from anywhere, and end up anywhere. If the route for any individual includes completing a PhD then that has to be the best path for that individual at that time. No one can predict what the future holds, but I strongly believe that achieving a PhD should never reduce career opportunities for an individual as it is an investment in yourself and 3-4 years of high-end training.

One final point; with the lack of geo jobs available during the most recent downturn, PhD completions have increased significantly; so there will be many more job applications from former PhD students over the next few years.

I will be very interested to see how they progress with their careers and wish them all success. I hope the industry doesn't miss the opportunity.

This short article was simply intended to initiate some discussion, so I encourage comments and examples that readers could pass on.