Why pursuing a PhD no longer appeals to me?

The title of this post should immediately make it clear that at some point, I strongly considered pursuing a PhD. But I no longer feel the same enthusiasm. So what has caused this change? Here I try to crystallize my thoughts.

First, a bit of background. I am 28, and I recently finished my part-time Master of Engineering (M.Eng) program by research. I have been working in the area of wireless communication networks. My M.Eng thesis received some extremely positive reviews from my examiners; I have also accumulated a few publications to my name through these years. I do feel good about both these facts.

One chapter ends and a new one starts. Now that my M.Eng. is done, "what is next?" needs to be answered. In one way, the answer should be obvious. A PhD. from a good place, since I have always been a good student with excellent academic results, I like research, I am inspired by great researchers, I like to learn, I am academically inclined, I like to teach and can do that well, blah blah blah. In fact, that is what I have been told by a lot of people and exactly how I thought till about a few months back. PhD it was, the only question was the discipline. I (obviously) considered engineering---communications and networking in particular; and then for a short period, economics---mainly to diversify, or try something else, something close to people and society, as I would say then.

In the last few months, my thinking has been changing. Discussions with people and my own reflections on research have made me re-consider what I had felt had been the most obvious choice for me: pursuing a PhD. There are several reasons. None of these reasons completely explain the situation on their own, but taken together, they do. Let me point the reasons out:

1. I already have the research experience, thanks to my M.Eng. research, which was largely unguided, independent and borderless at start. So, a PhD will be, in terms of experience, similar to what I have already seen. The atmosphere might make some difference, but I really doubt it can be too much of a difference.

2. Given my nature and liking, I am attracted to theoretical problems which will have, or have had, a profound impact on the way the knowledge in the field has shaped. Thinking on these problems does whet my appetite for intellectual satisfaction. But then, that is not enough: a researcher needs to publish. In theoretical problems, breaking new ground is not an easy pursuit by any measure. To say the least, it can be a slow-process, almost a lifelong commitment. In fact, a real handful do what can be considered truly ground-breaking. Most other researchers assimilate, follow-up, tweak, put in perspective, combine, and see some new trends or lines of reasoning from each others' work. Personally, I do feel greatly inspired by creative thinking seen in good research papers, but I feel I should see that appreciation in perspective. Being able to appreciate great music is necessary but not sufficient a reason for one to try to become a musician!

3. Related to the significance of publications also is the third reason. My first hand experience tells me that at least some of the problems that researchers work on are products of imagination (theory for the sake of theory), not of one mind, but several minds, clever ones indeed, all motivated with a common need to publish! As much as I do not want to work on such problems, I also do not fancy putting myself in competition with many others who, in my eyes at least, will be pursuing and solving shallow imaginary problems but publishing nevertheless. There is really more to life than chasing research publications!

4. I like to learn, but which subject do I really like? After much thought, I conclude that there is something fundamental about knowledge and learning, regardless of discipline, that I get thrilled about. Thus, I get equally interested and inspired by engineering, economics, mathematics, computer science, biology, history, psychology, or even political science for that matter. Going deep into a specific topic is pleasure to the grey-cells, but getting an all-round exposure to a wide variety of ideas too is a pleasure for me.

5. I equally (as much as thinking about academic subjects) enjoy working with people and managing them and I do possess leadership skills. This is one aspect of my personality that has been acknowledged by many people (most importantly myself) at every stage of my life so far. So, do I want to confine myself to the boundaries of a university, work long hours on a specific academic problem, interact with a small set of people with a similar background---basically, live the life of a graduate student as epitomized in these four words: department, apartment, advisor, Budweiser--- when I could be getting some other kind of experience that would be enjoyable in its own right?

A researcher-turned-entrepreneur once said that PhD theses mostly deal with interesting problems that are not necessarily important while making a successful business involves dealing with important problems that are often not interesting (to researchers). That pretty much sums up my reasons for feeling doubtful about pursuing a PhD. I think I should get some new experience; work on problems that are important---those that also require strategizing and acting, though perhaps not at the same depth as an academic problem; broaden my horizons; and hone and actively use my people and general management skills. There is no reason to believe that one does not get opportunity to tackle difficult problems outside of research. Research can well be an attitude, even if it is not a profession. The one thing that I do feel very much pinched about, I must admit, is that if I do not get a PhD., I cannot teach at a university. I hope there will be other avenues to teach ...

A more important question that comes in for me is, "Okay, so no PhD. But then what?". Some say that if I say "bye" to research and academia (by not pursuing a PhD), I need to brace myself for the corporate world by getting an MBA, as that will not only be a tangible stamp but will also teach me the much needed business knowledge and get me the right kind of network. Some others say that I already have the skills that an MBA course can teach, at least the soft skills that is; the specific knowledge can be picked up as I go along. They also argue that with an M.Eng degree already under your belt, I must come across as qualification crazy if I were to go for an MBA now. Do you have any suggestions?