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- Mar 14, 2006
Just started Summer courses for my MIS concentration for my MBA, fall is my final semester, so close, yet so far.
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- Aug 22, 2012
How does it feel? Meet any nice young intelligent females along the way?
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Joining the graduate squad of NT, even happier that i got a full academic scholarship
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^Nice 
First year complete. One more and I'm done!
First year complete. One more and I'm done!
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Just got an unconditional pass on my dissertation proposal defense. Just 1 year left and I can live up to the name!
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A and A- for my first semester...
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Any of y'all left your state or graduate school but didn't for undergrad or any job?
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Did undergrad in Seattle. Worked in Seattle. Left Seattle for Maryland for grad school. Can't wait to get back to Seattle.
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What made you choose a school out there
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My endgame is to be a tenured professor at UW, so when looking into grad schools I met with a bunch of my old professors, and they gave me a list of schools for which going to would increase my likelihood of getting a job at UW after getting my PhD. And UMD was a consensus top 5. I didn't even know it existed before they discussed it with me lol.
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How long of a gap year did you have before attending UMD?
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About four years. I was in industry for a couple of years before I realized that even a Fortune 50 company didn't really understand their marketing strategy. So I started volunteering a couple hours a week to get better insight into what real marketing research is, and really dug the psychology behind it all.
EDIT: but for what it's worth, my work experience was seen as a disadvantage from the top schools because it suggested that I had a more managerial, rather than theoretical mindset (which is true). If anyone is interested in business PhDs, I'm happy to share more insight.
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Please do. Im actually going for my MBA lol.
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- Feb 23, 2006
Has anyone done a program in HCI or Interaction Design? Trying to get insight on different schools/programs.
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Alright, quick lowdown on PhDs vs MBAs. Getting a PhD is like a job, so you make anywhere from about $15-35k annually depending on the program. As I'm sure you know, MBAs can run you a couple hundred k in debt.
MBAs = 2years. PhDs = 4-5years.
MBAs are largely for application (if you want to go to industry). PhDs (in business) are largely for research and teaching.
If you're considering a PhD, ask your professors what their research is and if you can get involved. It's a huge help in getting into a program. Most business PhD programs accept between 1-3 students annually, so your network is hugely beneficial. If you've got any specific questions, just holla at me.
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Yea please do I am looking to Agribusiness programs and I am in your area
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@DocWatson
Can you speak more on what you have learned being a PHd program for Marketing vs the experience you have already gain during your gap years?
What can you could bring to a company Fortune 500 or Start Up after obtaining your degree?
Can you speak more on what you have learned being a PHd program for Marketing vs the experience you have already gain during your gap years?
What can you could bring to a company Fortune 500 or Start Up after obtaining your degree?
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Oh man, I'll try not write an essay. In industry I sometimes learned what was effective, but I never truly knew why. I'd often ask my superiors (zone manager, director of sales, region vice president) why we did something and they'd say "because that's how we always have done it" or "because it usually works". But they never knew why it worked. Of course we had our guesses, but we didn't know. Pursuing a PhD has allowed me to know the answer.
To give a quick story, I used to receive things from corporate to incentivize my employees. Sometimes it would be like $50 and sometimes it would be like 4 movie tickets. And sometimes one was really effective, and sometimes the other was. One of the first projects I started when I started my PhD was one to understand the different effects of cash and noncash incentives. Now, all prior research says "cash is more effective than noncash (assuming equal value) because people can maximize their preferences. If they want the noncash thing they can just buy it. If they want something else, they can just buy it." But as I said, I knew that different incentives would have different effectiveness at different times. So after reading all the literature about incentives, rewards, gifts, and cash vs. noncash values, I realized that people use these things differently. Long story short, (I won't bore you with all of it unless you really want to know) but I was able to demonstrate that noncash incentives (like movie tickets) can actually give employers a better ROI over time, because consumers are forced to use them in a fun way (seeing a movie) whereas they might use cash in a non-fun way (e.g., filling their gas tank or putting it in savings).
Through my network, a few companies (actually both Fortune 500s and start-ups) have reached out to me for light consulting and I get paid to basically tell them how prior research would answer their question. And when there isn't a clear answer, I can usually do some research to tell them the 3 or 4 most likely outcomes, and then design experiments for them to implement. For example, a major company came to me with a list of 20 possible summer marketing campaigns, and asked me which would be best. I then narrowed it down to their top 8 by getting rid of ones that wouldn't elicit the emotions they wanted their consumers to feel and, more importantly, ones that would cause negative emotions.
Before pursuing a PhD, I would ask questions and have no clue where to find an answer. Now I know where to look, and if there isn't an answer I know how to create an accurate one. Sorry for the essay, but I hope it helps. If you've got any other questions, just holla.
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- Apr 16, 2005
To all my folks that started or finished up graduate school already, how much did you guys freak out beforehand? I'm kinda mild manner & don't remember feeling like this since before I was getting ready to start undergrad lol.
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It probably depends on your program. I did education because a masters is required here in ny to stay certified, so it was just a long expensive formality for me. It's not like undergrad because you are closer to a peer and many people are already working
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- Nov 6, 2012
Starting my Master's back up class starts today . Not taking anymore semesters off until I graduate . I will graduate Spring 2019 with my MS Systems Engineering with a Cyber Security concentration. Looking to be promoted to a level 4 engineer when I return from working overseas , so obtaining this degree is a must .
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I'm almost done with my first quarter. I had that feeling at first, but by orientation I was reminded that we're all in the same shoes. Just know that if you've made it this far to get in, you'll be fine the rest of the way.
capital sb
will be graduating Spring 2019 too (if I stick with the curriculum) for MBA. Good luck bro
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Nice ! Goodluck to you as well. Where are you getting your MBA from?@BeezyGotSolewill be graduating Spring 2019 too (if I stick with the curriculum) for MBA. Good luck bro
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what backpacks yall rocking to class?
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Class of 2019 checking in, MSW at USC! Congrats to all those getting their acceptance letters now,
and good luck. Thank you to all who have contributed with advice, and information.
and good luck. Thank you to all who have contributed with advice, and information.
