ok my first question is....lets say you have a phd in metaphysics....and you apply for a job at burger king....(just an example)....even though i highly doubt metaphysics has anything to do with burger king....unless meat is the answer to the univurse....do you think the individual would be compensated for having a docterate in a feild that has nothing to do with his work enviorment....but because he is a doctor anyways....how do you think this situation would be handled..... my second question is....if your working towards a doctorate or masters ect ect....does it have to be towards something specific....or can you just get a degree that you could use in any career you would want to persue thank you....
It depends. Is this hypothetical person with a PhD in Metaphysics going for a job flipping burgers? Or are they going for a job in Burger Kings corporate sector? Either way, I don't think this hypothetical person would be "compensated". You can do either Research or Coursework Masters/Doctorates. With research degrees you need to complete a thesis on a very specific topic. Most of the coursework masters I have come across are also pretty specific. Before you can do a postgraduate degree (masters/PhD), you need to do an undergraduate degree (min 3 - 5 years depending on the degree). If you want to do something very general, try doing a Bachelor of Arts degree. Depending on the university, you can major in pretty much anything with this degree.
They would probably not get the job as being less likely to stay and more likely to be a smart arse and cause trouble (been there done that) A PhD is a unique contrabution to science--sure as hell has to be something specific.
If the skills learned in the PhD program have nothing to do with the job one applies for, then there is no reason for the employer to compensate for that higher degree. Anyone can flip burgers -- what's wrong with the PhD who has to go work at such a menial job? However, if one winds up working in a field completely different from what they got a higher degree (MA/PhD) in, yet has reason to use the writing and research skilled learned (or that you would be expected to learn) in the graduate program, then yes, you're more likely to be compensated. Yes. You're not likely to get accepted into a graduate program unless you can articulate something specific you want to study. One person I am acquainted with is working on an MA in archaeology, just to get the letters. He has a job in computer tech, and just getting those little letters will increase his salary. However, in that case, he's up on all of the programming and whatnot that is relevant to his job, since he is already doing the job. So, in this case, he was able to just go for any MA that sounded fun, without worrying about getting a job in that field. However, I don't know of many people in a similar situation. Every grad student that I know except for that one person is planning to work in the field that they are currently studying.
