A recent survey by Paysa found out that nearly a third of all jobs in AI required the candidate to hold a doctorate. A quick Google search will also reveal that employers want a Ph.D for a huge number of similar positions in the tech industry.
Opinion writer Noah Smith asserts that companies are shooting themselves in the foot by limiting their talent search to candidates with Ph.D.s in this article in Bloomberg:
But the practice of requiring Ph.D.s for technical jobs could have some drawbacks. First, if the practice becomes an entrenched norm — that is, if companies start to assume that top jobs should go to Ph.D.s — it could create a segmented labor market, where qualified job candidates with only master’s or bachelor’s degrees would be overlooked and ignored.
If Ph.D.s become de rigueur for top tech jobs, it could also entice many more Americans to get Ph.D.s. But the program of study required to earn the degree isn’t optimized for sending people to industry. Because doctoral students work under professors, they get trained for the academic life. Academia is more independent than corporate research, especially for students trying to prove their research skills through single-authored papers. It’s also driven by different imperatives — an academic may choose to research an esoteric topic of interest, while a corporate research team tends to be driven by the demands of the market. The culture mismatch is so great that there is a whole industry devoted to helping academics transition to the private sector.
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…companies should also think twice about requiring Ph.D.s for research jobs. Master’s or even bachelor’s degree holders are often highly talented, and many can learn Ph.D.-level research skills on the job as they go. Employers should be careful not to overlook the vast pools of talent among those who lack the most polished credentials.
