Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Rob Barrett <rcbarrett AT gmail.com>]

I thought I'd just chime in with a few personal comments on the question 
of doctorates and their value.

I studied science and technology and received a PhD from a well-known US 
university in applied physics about 15 years ago. I subsequently worked 
at a major corporate research lab on a variety of technical topics with 
a good number of respectable publications, patents, etc.  During these 
years I worked almost exclusively with PhDs of various disciplines and 
at various levels of seniority from newbies to world famous scholars.  A 
few of my research colleagues were research peers, though without PhDs.  
In some cases I still don't know who has a PhD and who doesn't.  I also 
supervised student interns that ranged from undergraduates to postgrads, 
and helped supervise a few doctoral dissertations.  I am now on leave 
from that job to do a PhD in biblical studies in the UK.  I'm 39 and my 
wife and I felt that it was getting close to the "now or never" point 
for becoming a full-time student again, so I'm extremely pleased to have 
this opportunity, since I tremendously enjoy the academic life and 
learning to study the biblical text better is a dream come true.

The question of the value of education at various levels is a frequent 
topic of conversation, both with my extended family (some of whom have a 
disdain for those who are "overly educated", in which group I am usually 
placed!) and my work colleagues.  At work we would struggle over the 
best way to manage people of various educational levels in a research 
environment.  We would often comment on the undeniable but 
difficult-to-describe difference between PhDs and non-PhDs.  Something 
seems to happen in those 3-5 (or many more!) years of PhD studies.

My own theory is that the experience of having to "do the research 
thing" once is a transformative experience.  It is very difficult to 
bear the responsibility for learning the current state of a field of 
study, choosing a viable research topic within that field, executing on 
that topic, articulating the results to the standards of the academy, 
and defending those results so that they stand as worthwhile even to 
those who disagree.  I'm sure it is possible to learn these things and 
have this experience in other settings, but the work of a PhD is the 
usual way to get it.  Having done it once seems to make a difference in 
the kinds of independent research work someone is capable of doing.  
(Although it seems that having done it once in physics does not 
necessarily make it easier to do in biblical studies!)  Again, there are 
other ways to gain these skills, but the PhD process has been a good one 
for me and many of the people I know.

One other point that I think is important is that I don't believe PhD 
work is for everyone, and it doesn't mean the PhD person is "better" in 
any sense than a non-PhD.  As others have posted, life circumstances 
play a major role in who follows this path and who doesn't.  There are 
certainly many people with PhDs who have less sense, maturity, and even 
knowledge than those who don't.  In the qualification-oriented world we 
live in, a PhD will open some doors (and close others!).  It's a choice 
each person has to make as to which path they want to follow. But to a 
certain degree, having done the work leading to a PhD seems to 
contribute significantly to preparing a person to do a certain kind of 
work well.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough.  I hope I haven't said anything too 
offensive, and I appreciate all I learn from lurking on this list--from 
people whose backgrounds are mostly unknown to me (though it's always 
fun to follow signature links to see your web pages!).

all the best,
Rob
http://coffeewithbarretts.com/