What you can do with a PhD in Information Systems? The answers below will help you decide whether you should do your PhD in Information Systems or another discipline.
If you have decided to start your PhD, then you should ensure that your concentration choice in Information Systems will yield some benefit to you. However, even if you have not decided to start your PhD yet, knowing your future opportunities after earning a PhD in Information Systems may help with your decision.
The following are some of the great career options you can take advantage of with a PhD in Information Systems:
- Assistant Professor at a Teaching School: In a predominantly teaching-based school, teaching takes 70% of your time, research takes 20%, and service takes 10%. Most of your time is spent teaching. This is a noble career with a reasonable income. If you prefer teaching more than you do research, then this is a good choice.
- Assistant Professor at a Research-Based School: In a predominantly research-based school, research takes 50% of your time, teaching takes 40%, and service takes 10%. Most of your time is spent doing research. If you prefer research or like to spend equal time in both teaching and research, then this is a good choice.
- Researcher in a Corporate Organization: In this role, you are conducting scientific research in an organization that specializes in data and research-based results. In this role, you get the best of both worlds by applying scientific research with direct implications for practical outcomes in a professional capacity. You can work for an organization that conducts market research (e.g., Statista, RAND, Gartner, Forrester, etc.). If you have prior working experience in the area you are consulting (e.g., product management, application development, implementation), then this combined with your PhD will give you additional insight that may fetch you more leverage and income.
- Professional Consultant: You may or may not use your data-analysis skills in this role because you’ll mostly be working in an advisory and consulting role. Your role is to help your clients better understand their problems, and how to address them. Your PhD work in understanding theory and human behavior will help you break down problems, question the status quo, and identify potential solutions.
- Data Scientist: This is an industry job. This role requires you to have strong skills in data analytics and to work with huge amounts of data. Your PhD in Information Systems will prepare you for this role because of your academic experience working with large amounts of data. The demand for this role is high. If you like this role and want to pursue it after your PhD, then make sure to focus on research studies that make use of big data so that you will have lots of practice.
- Machine-Learning Engineer: Like the data-scientist role, this is an industry job that focuses on and requires strong skills in data analytics. The difference between machine learning and data science is that machine learning involves using specific model-building algorithms to analyze data. This role comes naturally to those with PhDs in Information Systems. Many of the data analysis we perform is done using machine-learning algorithms. The machine-learning career is in high demand, so you won’t go wrong with this one.
- Cybersecurity Consultant: This is an industry position like the consulting role mentioned previously. The difference is that a Cybersecurity Consultant specializes only in cybersecurity. The demand for cybersecurity is similarly high. If you like this area, then consider focusing your PhD research and dissertation on cybersecurity—whether behavioral or technical.
Seeking a PhD After 40 and What you can do with a PhD in Information Systems?
If you are looking to get your PhD after 40, then as an older person with some solid experience under your belt, you may be looking for specific ways to reflect your learned skills and insights. The best types of careers for those over 40 with PhDs in Information Systems are consultant roles or assistant professor roles.
Conclusion
In this post, I have discussed seven different career options you can take advantage of with a PhD in Information Systems. Of course, these are just a few of the possibilities available to you when you have a PhD in Information Systems. Do you see yourself in any of these roles?
The bottom line is that you can stay in academia or go into a professional industry. Usually, the path that you think you want to take will also determine the kind of PhD that you should get. If you are looking to stay in academia, then a traditional PhD is your best route. If you already know that you’ll go into a professional industry, then a doctorate in business might be a better route for you. However, a traditional PhD will best prepare you and give you the discipline you need to be well-rounded in all seven of the listed career options.
As you can see, there are so many great career options. Start your journey today. Study and pass your GRE/GMAT and apply to a school that offers full funding.
