Career Dilemma: How Relevant is PhD to Energy Policy Career?
Dear Jarus
I have been a long time reader of JarusHub and thanks for all you do here. I’m in a dilemma and I need your advice.
I quit my job as an engineer in one of the leading multinational oil services companies and currently doing my masters in an Asian country. I spent roughly a year in the company before coming for my masters programme here.
I am not really planning to return to engineering side of the oil and gas sector as I have my eye on energy policy. I had my first degree in Petroleum Engineering and currently doing my masters in Chemical Engineering.
I have been speaking to a mentor who thinks I do not need a PhD. I think I need a PhD. My mentor is of the view that PhD is for old generation in the industry.
Can you please advise me. Do you think PhD is relevant to my dream? And if so, between UK, US and Canada, where do you advise I do the PhD?
Thanks
T.O
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Dear T.O
There are quite a number of PhD holders in the oil and gas industry. In fact, almost every upstream oil company has a PhD holder. A good number of top guys in the industry from Maikanti Baru to Ibe Kachikwu actually had/have a PhD. It is not uncommon to see PhD holders in top IOCs and most of them did theirs while still working. My good friend with Shell, Michael Taiwo also has, and he got it before even starting corporate job at all.
I agree with your mentor that PhD may not be a top decider but that’s if you want to return to the technical side of the industry.
However, since you are trying to pivot to the policy side, I think PhD is very important. In policy and in international organizations, Masters is like the first degree, PhD is only like second. If you look at the profiles of folks that work in international energy organizations and institutions, from OPEC to GECF to IEI, you will see a lot of PhD holders, many with like three masters. Playing in the policy space also means you will want to go into consulting at some point in the future. PhD will be important for that too.
And you are looking beyond oil and gas, you are looking at the broader energy space. That is a space that is not limited to one country.
For you to be globally competitive, PhD will be helpful. And from a good school. Even outside oil and gas, if you look at Nigerians that are high flyers in the international space, from Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to Akinwumi Adesina, they have PhD.
You have penciled down UK, US and Canada, if I were to rank, I would pick US first, followed by UK and then Canada for sound energy research.
You are still young, you are well read, you have had some experience in technical side of the industry, and your first and second degree are in engineering, you only need to get a PhD admission in a relevant energy programme (eg Energy Policy, Energy Economics, Public Policy etc).
And network as much as possible. Write articles, too. That visibility may be helpful in your ambition to be a policy expert.
I wish you all the best.
Jarus
@jarushub on Twitter
