Hi friends! I need advice about whether to do PhD after masters or find a job. I started looking for a job and while on it I contacted a professional recruiter in Toronto named The executive wing, http://www.theexecutivewing.com/ . They suggested me to get PhD and then find a job which will be better for my career. I was hoping to do PhD after working for a few years. This got me a little confused about what to do. My friends also got mixed opinions, though none of them have done a PhD. Can anyone give me good advice on what to do in this situation? Should I continue with PhD or find a job now?

Doing a PhD is no guaranteed route to a job. Does your desired career require a PhD? If not, don't do one unless you want to do a PhD just because you want a PhD. It doesn't really matter whether you work first and do PhD later or do PhD first.

Why not apply for jobs and PhDs at the same time? I doesn't sound like you have either set up yet so keep your options open. PhDs don't make it easier to get jobs but you can always do one later if you take a job.

Thank you for the quick responses. I know doing PhD is a guaranteed route to job and job is not the only reason why I want to do it. Actually I got some job offers now which requires only masters as a qualification criteria. It is something I want to do, but I was a little confused whether I should wait a little or not. For some reason, I am not very interested in doing job and PhD at the same time for now. May be I will consider it later. As of now I am thinking of taking the job, work for a couple of years and then do the PhD. Hoping for the best. Again thank you for the helpful replies.

It depends on your field. In most cases, a PhD will make it even harder (!) to find a job afterwards. You are highly qualified and there are only a few positions that require this expert knowledge. That's why so many PhD graduates work out of their field afterwards. There are however some fields where it can be beneficial. For instance, if you want to work in an industrial research facility as a chemist, they might want someone with a PhD.
I agree with TreeofLife, do the PhD only for the sake of doing a PhD or because the career path really requires the PhD. If the job you are going for can be done with a master degree, the PhD degree will rather lower your chances on landing a job. They see you as overqualified.

Hi, jenny01,

A PhD does not guarantee a job. My personal opinion is to get the 2 years working experiences first before doing a PhD. This would be helpful to you if you do not intend to go into academia after PhD since most non-academic jobs require at least 2 years working experiences. Also, combining a PhD with previous working experiences is very helpful in elevating you higher up the chain of command/career ladder. A lot of PhD graduates find it hard to get a non-academic job without prior working experiences, so save yourself the trouble by getting the experience first.

By the sounds of it I would definitely try find the job I want (and then come back to PhD later). Maybe you could talk to more people - other agencies, those in the field - get a feel for the job climate and hopefully attend some interviews. This will all inform you more about the realities.