25Fall 商科 Ph.D 申请定位（非典型）

JohnYT

我是大龄非典型申请者，请教各位同学申请定位和策略：
学校背景：
-本科国内中游985会计专业 GPA 86/100
-港前三会计硕士（授课式） GPA 3.4/4.0
-港前五Doctor of Business Administration
-中国注册会计师、香港注册会计师、美国管理会计师、国际内审师
工作经验：
-11年工作经验，包括四大审计、大集团公司并购部、企业CFO。工作履历偏Corporate Finance、M&A、PE/VC。
学术：
-没有太多学术成果和经历，有一篇论文初稿 , 主要是结合工作经历产生的研究想法和方向。
标化成绩：
-GT成绩还没考，2011年考过GMAT是760，TOEFL是100+。 都已经过期。
申请Ph.D原因：
一方面家庭原因需要去美国发展，直接到美国就业签证太难，故申请Ph.D去美国。
另一方面自己有美国的Ph.D梦，也有兴趣走学术和教学路线。
申请策略咨询；
-年龄是否对PhD申请有影响？
-申请学校可定位哪些学校，冲刺学校和保底学校？
-申请专业个人偏向于会计金融，是否也可以申一下战略管理类？
-接下来几个月有哪些方面可以进一步最优化和提升努力的？

Tripleg

Your practical experience sounds varied and plentiful. Why not consider Strategic Management? If you aim to embark on your Ph.D. experience in the Fall next year, there is a time window of no more than five or six months to prepare for your application. Thus, rather than seeking out research assistant opportunities, you may want to focus on the GRE. Your English proficiency exam may be waived for many schools in North America if your undergraduate or Master's degree is from HK institutions.

A widely held belief among applicants is that one does not have to worry about her test scores anymore once she reaches or surpasses a 'threshold'. Such a threshold is conjectual at most and, in concrete terms, should mean the 90th percentile and above. As a matter of fact, a vast majority of applicants for Ph.D. programs, esp. top ones, boast glowing test scores with percentiles ranging anywhere from the 90th to 99th. Therefore, one will be at a disadvantage relatively if she applies with test scores that are below par. Such mediore scores are likely more of a handicap in cases where the other components of her package do not shine in the applicant pool, such as reputation of prior institutions attended, GPAs, references, and research potential. Therefore, those who do not perceive one or more of the latter to be particularly strong are advised to give more prominence to the role of test scores.
  
By the way, would your DBA credential disqualify you from applying for Ph.D. programs?

古天乐

肯定能有offer，肯定能毕业，可能能找到教职，但是基本劝退
年纪大，没有科研经验，没有明确科研方向，估计封学术推荐信都很难凑齐，更别说强推
这种情形下很难拿到好的项目offer
学术是要靠资源的，学校的名气，院系的资源，导师的人脉
一倍的资源差距要靠八倍的努力来弥补
另外，拖家带口的拖累，PhD motivation不足以支持自己死心踏地做科研出成果
毕业后基本没有place到research university的可能，只能去美国三本教书，teaching university根本不需要你做research

然后你就会发现自己花了1年申请时间+5年学习时间，做了个学术实验失败品
5年phd期间的research training白费了，就为拿个大学教师证
25岁给人拿去免费实验5年无所谓
40岁再去做就要好好掂量
你还有多少个5年可以浪费
你还是nothing to lose吗


当然我不是看不起以teaching university和教学为目标
我单纯地觉得40岁再开始花5年以这个为目标，对有成功的职业经历的人，很难得到心里平衡
人家美国人MBA或master就轻轻松松在大学做teaching faculty，tenure不tenure都无所谓

反正我是40 开始PhD的
全靠一口气在顶着
我都担心我人未tenure，身已入土

Tripleg

古天乐 发表于 2024-7-15 01:56
肯定能有offer，肯定能毕业，可能能找到教职，但是基本劝退
年纪大，没有科研经验，没有明确科研方向，估计 ...

I am spending quite a while trying to make sense of your note. It reads very discursive, and sounds couched in a tone that is cynical and despairing. I beg to differ on a couple of points.

Your concern about JohnYT's age in relation to his Ph.D. aspiration would be unwarranted. Assuming that he had started working right after completing his four-year undergraduate education, he should be in his early thirties this year. Would he be too old to pursue a Ph.D. degree? I do not think so. Know that it is not uncommon for Ph.D. students to be in their thirties.

One's job market outcome is determined by a host of factors, which are often intertwined, such as the reputation of her program and the output and quality of her research. There is a whole lot to accomplish in a span of six years, which is the normative time to the completion of a Ph.D. Therefore, any prediction of one's career placement prior to the commencement of her Ph.D. journey can fall short.

Adjunct faculty (commonly called faculty of professional practice at business schools) teach on a limited-term contract. According to media reports, the median compensation per course is $2,700. So, on the pecuniary side, an adjunct faculty position can be significantly less rewarding than many other job categories that even do not require a high school diploma, such as chefs and bartenders in the restaurant business. It is not that they do not care about or hanker after tenureship but that they are ineligible for that.  

I can see from your response, which hints at the vicissitudes of your own academic experience, that you have come a long way to be where you are at present. I wish you continued success! Cheers!

JohnYT

Tripleg 发表于 2024-07-14 03:27:20

感谢您的建议。近期我也抓紧时间准备托福和GMAT考试。
另外想请教一下工作经验是否对会计博士的申请有帮助？战略管理方向博士在申请难度和就业机会上与会计博士对比如何？

JohnYT

古天乐 发表于 2024-07-15 01:56:16

感谢！
大龄读博确实需要很大勇气。

Tripleg

JohnYT 发表于 2024-7-16 23:26
感谢您的建议。近期我也抓紧时间准备托福和GMAT考试。
另外想请教一下工作经验是否对会计博士的申请有 ...

Neither is my domain and hence I am not in a position to advise. However, the choice of subject areas to apply for should be determined predominently by research interests and not employment prospects or other non-academic considerations. If this is not the case for you, you would need to rethink whether to pursue a Ph.D., which represents a major life decision and a big commitment of time and effort. Why not an MBA or professional Master's?

古天乐

好不容易熬完了第四年，最近严重觉得体力不济，精神不振，希望不大，时日不多

Tripleg

古天乐 发表于 2024-7-17 10:37
好不容易熬完了第四年，最近严重觉得体力不济，精神不振，希望不大，时日不多 ...

Are you serious or jesting? I am rooting for you in your research and job market!

古天乐

Tripleg 发表于 2024-7-17 20:22
Are you serious or jesting? I am rooting for you in your research and job market!

非常严重
视力退化到要贴着屏幕看字
头痛欲裂到每天要吃七八片止痛药
不知是精神恍惚还是视力退化太严重，数度上错公交车，而且是末班车，而且是冬夜，而且在IOWA
导致零下二三十从不认识的地方走路三四十分钟回家