PhD Finance or DBA for career in Financial Management / Investment Management

[David1477]

Hi!

This question is mostly aimed towards people that completed their DBA/PhD and have personal experience with the industry recognition/industry value of these degrees.

My academic roadmap is nearly mapped out.

BSc in BA -> MSc in Accounting and Finance. Now, for a career in financial/investment management, what would be the optimal terminal degree to this path?

I have the option to pursue either a PhD in finance or a DBA at the school of my choice. The cost is roughly the same. The PhD would push me deeper into my specialization, while the DBA would be more of a general management degree (however, my dissertation in the DBA program can still be related to a topic in finance).

I've heard stories about both sides: "the PhD is only valued in academia and doesn't help you in industry jobs" / "the DBA is not a classic doctorate degree so people will not take it seriously". 

What are your experiences and your recommendations? To which extend are the two statements from above true or false? Which degree would you think benefits me the most in this industry?

[Heartstrings]

I've heard the same thing about doctoral degrees in the business field in general. Not all, but doctoral degrees do prepare one for a career in academia. I have even heard that MBA's are almost unecessary unless you're trying to get the CPA license in Accounting. Interested to hear what others think.

[wow]

If the goal is a career in finance, I don't see any reason to get a doctorate. A master's is probably also unnecessary. Not speaking from my own experience, but my mom had a career in finance based on a BA totally unrelated to finance, and when she got a Master's degree later in life, it was also unrelated to finance. She did get some professional certifications along the way, though.

But if you want to pursue postgraduate education because you find it interesting, that's a good enough reason as far as I'm concerned, as long as you can afford it.