General

Re: PhD Program

thaffner — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:34:39 GMT

I'm also looking at SMC's Political Economy program. The syllabus looks purely Austrian. Also found a Working Paper that looks good:

http://www.smcuniversity.com/item/a-definitional-review-of-economics-through-the-application-of-the-leading-theories-and-methodology-of-the-austrian-school.html?category_id=32

Good luck with your decisions...

Tim

Re: PhD Program

John James — Mon, 30 May 2011 08:05:24 GMT

So basically what I gather from all of that is you want a PhD because when you "retire" you want to teach, and you believe that degree is...what, necessary? Opens more doors?

Really that depends on what you want to teach. To be perfectly honest, if you plan on teaching the world you know (finance), a PhD is not necessary. Certainly not with your credentials. Business schools (at least the good ones) want real world experience. They want instructors who know (and can teach) the students the things they need to know to get hired by the big firms. 2.8 masters degrees and a couple of decades in the trenches is plenty.

Really, is it more just a personal thing? I get the sense that you just really want to be back in school...

Re: PhD Program

Kevin F — Mon, 30 May 2011 03:39:42 GMT

Hey Guys,

Thank you for your feedback. I need to make some decisions soon. I've had a pretty good rewarding career thus far on Wall Street, but I'm sick and tired of the BS and all the throat cutting going on. I kind of pigeon holed myself into being the middleman between the business (what we call the front office) and technology. As a consultant to Wall Street, I want to do pure front office work going forward, especially when it comes to economics. I'm one of those guys who love academia. I am fortunate in that I am in the reserves, and the military pays for the following schools:

National Defense University (Masters of Science in Strategic Intelligence) Graduate 05/12 Thesis: Polarity of Chinese Sovereign Wealth Funds and Its National Interests
Concord Law School (Executive Juris Doctorate) Graduate 12/12
I have no interest in becoming a lawyer, but from a Wall Street mentality I wanted to know the role law comes into play in Wall Streets. This is vital due to all the regulations coming out.

I also have an MBA from Dowling College (Banking and Finance) in NY, and a Post Graduate certificate in Financial Engineering from NYU/Polytechnic University (a few classes short of another Masters).

I am not bragging, but wanted to fully disclose my educational background. One of the reasons I was leaning towards a PhD/Doctorate is because I wanted to do some teaching later in my career. I always told my wife that when I retire that instead of working at Home Depot I would just teach at a local college.

To make a move into the 'front office' is a little difficult because I kind of geared my career towards something a little different in Wall Street. But that is my fault, and I plan on making that move really soon.

Anyhow, thanks for your input!

Cheers,
Kevin

Re: PhD Program

Chris — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:06:41 GMT

Kevin:

You could always get me a job on Wall Street after I get my Masters in Investment Management after this coming year. Just a suggestion (a serious one). Really though, with 2 MBAs and plenty of real world work experience I wouldn't bother to get a PhD. I think MBA/experience are far more useful. Also with a couple MBAs/experience of that sort if you want to be a professor of economics/finance (depending on what your MBAs are in) you could definitely do it. Ask yourself this: What would getting a PhD give you that you can not attain without it? (aside from a fancy Dr. prefix)

- Chris

Re: PhD Program

Scaramanga — Sun, 29 May 2011 09:24:53 GMT

Hi!

No encouragement needed, at least in my case. Another degree will hardly bring any material gain to me, and that is not my objective. I am interested because of personal intellectual goals. I was the odd guy at the "Doktorandenseminar" due to my area of work (currency competition) and AE economics and had plenty of scraps during my "Vorträge" with other candidates.... Additionally, I may add that I would do it as long as my previous PhD study certificate is taken into consideration and am allowed to present my thesis. Don't think I would be preapared to go through another couple of years to "learn" AE...

Re: PhD Program

John James — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:27:05 GMT

Guys I highly encourage you to take strong consideration fo the advice above and seriously rethink this notion of going through a PhD program. Again, if your ultimate goal is just the degree itself, or you have the money and time to spend and just want to do it for the experience or sense of accomplishment, then that's great, do what you enjoy. But if you think the degree is a means to some end, I would really like to hear what that end is that you think requires you spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of your time for a piece of paper.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against higher education, I just strongly agree with what the above poster mentioned, that for most people (and especially someone in your situation, Kevin) diminishing returns exist at this point (possibly even before your second graduate degree).

Truly, what is your goal? Or more specifically, why do you want to spend all that money and time?

Re: PhD Program

Kevin F — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:14:28 GMT

Hi,

I have not found any school in Austria (believe it or not) that is part time via long distance and/or in classroom which is what I am looking for. There are 2 in the UK that are rated highly and are flexbible, as well as Swiss Management Center (SMC) In Switzerland. Only issue with SMC is that their PhD in Eco is not accreditted. They do have a Doctorate program in Finance which is accredited. Also, the program is the cheapest I have ever seen for the program.

If you find out anything please let me know. Thanks!

Re: PhD Program

Scaramanga — Sat, 28 May 2011 08:48:13 GMT

Hi Kevin!

I'm in a similar position. I have an MBA and the required two year PhD (Dr Oec) study certificate in the area of Economics from a major German Uni, but never presented the thesis.

I'm curious: Is there any Uni in Austria where you can study a Doctorate in Economics or Economic History centered on AE?

Re: PhD Program

Kevin F — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:27:43 GMT

Thank you Z:

What you stated makes a lot of sense, and is not a bad idea. I definitely want to expand my knowledge of AE, and contribute in some sort of fashion.

Thanks again!

Re: PhD Program

justinx0r — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:06:05 GMT

z1235 is correct. You only want your PhD if you're going to be a professor or something. If you want to work in the private sector get your MBA instead.

Re: PhD Program

z1235 — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:02:23 GMT

Kevin F:

I also want to probably do a little teaching, but most importantly use my degree in either the public or private sector.

Kevin, I wouldn't go for a PhD if the above is your goal. Neither sector (especially the public one) would be impressed by a "recognized" (accredited) degree in what is still an unrecognized (fringe) field. Given your experience and degrees, I'd suggest you learn AE on your own and use your whole combined knowledge to create a niche global-macro financial expertise. Hopefully, that would result in producing advice or investment results worth someone's (investor's, employer's) attention.

At this point in your career, and given your other degrees, one more degree (PhD) would yield diminishing returns, as the market will strongly prefer results over degrees on your CV. It'd be a different story if you were independently wealthy and your sole goal was to learn AE in a more structured environment without any career ambitions going forward.

Just my $0.02. Take this with the usual disclaimer that this is nothing more than free advice on an internet forum from someone having minimal knowledge about your situation.

Re: PhD Program

abskebabs — Fri, 27 May 2011 12:14:05 GMT

Evidently, they've been trying to set up a master's program for a while now.

Re: PhD Program

Andrew Cain — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:22:25 GMT

"I do not think the school has grad programs"

For some reason I thought they did. Oh well.

Re: PhD Program

Isaac "Izzy" Marmolejo — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:17:39 GMT

Andrew Cain:

Why not go to Dr. Walter Block's college of Loyola University in New Orleans? They are all Austrians there.

I do not think the school has grad programs

Re: PhD Program

Andrew Cain — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:09:03 GMT

Why not go to Dr. Walter Block's college of Loyola University in New Orleans? They are all Austrians there.