Hi there,

As I did a PhD prior to work in consulting I may be able to help.
The first question is why would you want to do a PhD? If the answer is either “Because I have the opportunity to” or “Because it can boost my career” don't do it.  It will not go well.

There is countless pros to do a PhD but a PhD is a very demanding work when you will have to invest countless hours and efforts for years for very little reward. You will have to commit as much as you (physically and mentally) can with and keep your motivation and hopes high even without any gratification (money is very low and results can take years to come if they ever come). There will be no one to take you by the hand and motivate you when it gets tough. If you don't feel like pushing through and going the extra mile no one will do it for you even though this is necessary to achieve a good/great PhD. 

As such, the only good reason to do a PhD is because you are extremely interested by your PhD project. Because you have a great passion for the subject and want to make a breakthrough (even a little) in that topic. If your goals and your interests lie in anything other than the PhD in itself then it's a waste of time to pursue it.

A PhD is also a long term commitment (not uncommon for a PhD to last 5y in the US)

If you want a diploma to boost your career (and there is nothing wrong with that), then do a MBA after few years of your career. A PhD is not an appropriate path for that.

Hi there,

What a fantastic decision to have in front of you! I honestly think you can't go wrong in your decision here.

Ultimately these two roles are completely different. You need to figure out where you want to be in the future (even a general/broad idea is just find) and which of these roles will get you there.

The central bank + PhD role very much takes you the academic/world bank/researcher route. “career switch” is not how I would define this pathway.

Bain will be very commercial/business/corporate and generally allows more flexibility (but in a totally different, non-academic area).

Do you want to be academic/institutional or business/commercial?

Congrats on 2 great options to choose from!

Agree with the other coaches - think about where you see yourself in the long-term in terms of career and base you decision on that. 

When unsure yet about that aspiration, a few years in consulting can be a good idea, as it increases your flexibility and opens the path for other industries and roles. Yes, PhD can allow you to switch career as well, but within a significantly narrower set of options, as you will be quite specialized in your field.

If you see yourself as a central banker or similar type role, the PhD path will get you there faster and will improve your likelihood of success.

Both are great career options… if they are aligned with what you want to do. 

If you want to become a business leader, then Bain is the way to go. If you want to be a thought leader in academics or economic policy, then PhD is the better option. 

If you don't want to be a researcher, the question is why you would want to have the PhD. There's not really a “career switch” option in there. There are roles that benefit from that PhD - outside the academia, those would be in financial or governmental institutions. I don't think there's much outside this.

I've seen in your answers that you care about politics… both help. In one you get there by being a technical expert with high credentials (PhD), on the other one you get there by becoming highly knowledgeable in business (how the business world works), great at problem solving and getting things done, and you also will hopefully hold an MBA from a great school. I've seen people being successful in either route.

What you have to be aware is that in any of the options, you will only be succesful if you actually enjoy your day-to-day work. 

Hey, 

Congrats! Always great to have options :).

They are however very different and there isn't a like for like comparison and ultimately boils down to your career aspirations, risk profile and values. Have a look at this article I have written to answer this very question and there is plenty of guidance you can take to make the decision- https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-do-i-know-which-career-is-right-for-me

All the best choosing.

Hello!

First of all congratulations, both of them are wonderful options, so well done!

However, they are totally different and not really substitutes for one another. 

Hence, what I think that you should do first of all is answer some fundamental questions. 

What do you want to do in the short and medium term? How does each of those options get you closer to that? 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

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(edited)