I’m a working professional with no PhD in a field where it might make sense, and I’ve certainly made hiring decisions positive where one candidate had a PhD and the other did not. It has not affected me personally, but I could also see where it could be beneficial in the future.
My company would gladly pay for me to get a PhD. Are there programs out there which are highly regarded, remote or part time, and in the cluster of CS/AI that would accept a professional and not an academic?
The program where I got my master’s degree would take working professionals as part-time PhD students for about the first half of the program— for full-time students, this would be the first two years where you’re primarily focusing on course work. Part-time students would take a class or two a semester, gradually completing the PhD course work requirement over the course of several years.
Once you completed the required courses, passed your PhD prelim exam, and started focusing on your dissertation work, the expectation was that you would become a full-time student. There’s no way you’d complete a dissertation in anything resembling a timely manner while maintaining a full time job elsewhere. (I even know some people who had their PhD work slowed down by research assistantship work in the same area— it can be tough to hit that balancing point, especially when funding’s on the line.)
(I do not know if they offer any kind of remote postgraduate program; I’ve been away from that for several years.)
PhD programs in stem are typically funded and anyone can apply. I know people who were a professional in biotech who hit a cieling with their BS or MS and went back for PhD. If anything industry experience gives you a huge edge over students fresh out of undergrad. Probably none that are worth your time are going to let you work another job while in the program.
My company would gladly pay for me to get a PhD. Are there programs out there which are highly regarded, remote or part time, and in the cluster of CS/AI that would accept a professional and not an academic?