Balancing Work and Study: Is an Executive MBA or Ph.D. Better for an HR Consulting Career?

Hello All, I am writing this to seek some career guidance from you. I am currently working as an AM - HR Generalist with 4 years of experience and have completed my MBA in HR from an international university. As of now, my profile does not include OD concepts at all, which is my key interest area. I am also interested in pursuing a consulting career in HR. Would an Executive MBA from a premier business school be better than a Ph.D. from a premier school, considering that with the Ph.D., I can continue working while studying?

Thanks in advance!

Are you planning to pursue your Ph.D. from a foreign university? Generally, they require you to work for a fixed number of hours. You may choose to teach or take up any consulting roles. I have requested Mr. Simhan to guide you on this.

Regards,

Hello All,

I am writing this to seek some career guidance from you. I am currently working as an AM - HR generalist with 4 years of experience and have completed my MBA in HR from an international university. As of now, my profile does not include OD concepts at all, which is my key interest area. I am also interested in pursuing a consulting career in HR. Would an Executive MBA from a premier business school be better than a Ph.D. from a prestigious school, considering that with the Ph.D., I can continue working while studying?

Thanks in advance!

Dear Grasp, I am good at raising questions rather than answering yours. It's very difficult to give advice based on very brief information about your background and future plans.

PhD Pursuit Considerations

Where are you based and where do you want to pursue your PhD? Regulations for enrolling in a PhD course and the demands to complete it vary from country to country.

From which university did you get your MBA? And in which mode did you complete the course?

Interest in Organizational Development (OD)

If OD is your area of interest and your profile does not reflect that, do you have a command of that topic? If not, you need to read a lot and digest the material to be able to interpret and contribute in that field.

PhD vs. Consultancy Career

Normally, a PhD is essential for an academic career to advance. This is not always the case when working for a consultancy. Hence, you need to be clear about why you want to pursue a PhD.

The mere fact that you are questioning whether an MBA from a premier business school would be better than a PhD indicates that the foreign university from which you received the award is not a premier one. Am I correct?

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK