Author: Obi

Can you do a PhD while working? Before you answer this question, let’s discuss the pros and cons. Whether you should work while doing a traditional full-time PhD is an important question. No matter what others tell you, the answer is often very personal. The answer is also determined by personal factors (i.e., can you afford to live on a PhD stipend) and external factors (i.e., does the school allow working). Nonetheless, knowing the answers before you start your PhD education will determine the schools and PhD programs to which you’ll apply. Hence, saving you time and energy at the…

When you start your PhD, you quickly discover that academic research papers are often difficult to comprehend and are time-consuming. Reading research papers is indeed no small feat. However, knowing how to read effectively will save time and improve your research writing skills. Moreover, knowing how to read academic research papers helps you make the most of your reading, especially in your first few semesters and if you’re from a non-business discipline. There are many suggestions on the internet for how to read research or scientific papers. For those suggestions to work for you, you must articulate why you’re reading…

The question of whether you should finish your business Midlife PhD in 3 or 4 years must be answered at the onset because it helps you determine the program, school, and professor to work with. To decide, you have to weigh the pros and cons. But once decided, you can use the information to find the right program and then settle into completing your work, freeing you from second-guessing your every move or motive. The duration of most PhD programs in business schools in the US and Europe is 4 years. A few programs are 5 years. However, the average…

  First, I want to say congratulations on deciding to pursue a PhD in your 40s. Now that the big decision is made, let’s move to some less daunting activities that’ll get you sitting in your first classroom in a few months. (Please note that the steps in this post are mainly directed toward pursuing a traditional Ph.D. However, these steps should also apply to DBA and Executive PhDs.). I classify these as early activities and application activities.   Early Decisions to Pursue a PhD The early activities involve some early decisions you must make. These decisions include; the location…

Research Reading is a requirement for a Ph.D.—No, wait. I take that back. Reading lots of research papers and summarizing them is a requirement for a Business Ph.D. program. To conduct research, it’s important to read and understand what others have done in the area you’re interested in. You are expected to know the conversations that have been had about the subject before you can join and contribute to the conversation. When you do not know what’s already been done, you run the risk of repeating it, and that’s a waste of time—hence, the requirement to read lots of articles…

If you’re getting your midlife PhD in your 40s or 50s, it can be challenging for many reasons, such as your career, family obligations, strenuous coursework, the challenge of intense studying, and handling the new academic culture. I remember two people leaving the midlife PhD program in my cohort: The first one quit a few weeks into the first semester, and the second one quit after two years in the program. Although it was sad to see them leave, they both had strong reasons for their decisions. If anyone tells you a Ph.D. is simple or easy, that person has…

In general, people are motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Intrinsic means that they pursue PhDs goal based on the sheer joy of it or just for the sake of the pursuit. Extrinsic means that the pursuit is motivated by external factors such as money, fame, or accolade. Researchers suggest that people also seek doctorate degrees for these reasons. They are extrinsically motivated by career, status, social, financial, or symbolic reasons. Others are intrinsically motivated by the sheer desire or love of learning (Templeton, 2021). In my view, extrinsic, intrinsic, or a combination of both, it matters to no one…

Having had a successful career for close to two decades, switching my way of Theoretical thinking from practice (get it done) to research was anything but simple. For a long time, I just could not make that transition. For starters, I didn’t even know I needed to make a transition. At the onset of my Ph.D. education, I found myself thinking that many of the concepts I was learning were “not practical”. That was the problem. Theoretical thinking is conceptually different from practical thinking. Theory can eventually be used to explain practical behaviors, but theory and practice are different. It…

Although researchers like William Brazziel and Robert Templeton have noted that mature-age students are more likely to be in doctoral programs, it’s still nerve-racking to be the only mature student in your doctoral class. This is Nora’s story of discovering she was the only mature student in her Ph.D. cohort. It is 2016. Nora is a 48-year-old single mother. She has three children between the ages of 8 and 12. After several months of deliberation, Nora pursues a traditional Ph.D. and simultaneously keeps her job as an application developer on a gig level. Nora didn’t tell anyone in the Ph.D.…

Pursuing a PhD – A doctor of Philosophy – is a terminal degree, which means it is the highest level of education one can attain in a field. According to researchers, the demographic shift from younger to older college graduates has been underway since the early 90s. This shift has also affected the age at which people graduate from master’s and doctorate degree programs (Brazziel, 1992). In other words, starting a Ph.D. education at a mature age may become the norm instead of an exception. Several studies have looked at how mature-age students start and complete their doctoral studies (Templeton,…