[Thane_Banquo]

I’ve worked with science PhD’s who have left academia to work in the private sector. Almost uniformally, I find them to be elitist, arrogant, and extremely lazy. As a policy, I will never hire a PhD. Ever.

[Oberon]

Funny you should mention that. I work in pharma, for a generic company making mostly tablets. We have to have a few Ph.D.s on staff for R&D work, but we retain absolutely no more than are required. As a rule, my company (and the previous drug company I worked for) found that unless the job absolutely requires Ph.D.-level education, these people mostly aren't worth what it costs to employ them.

Ironically, I have a B.A. in English and one of my reports has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He's from Puerto Rico, and apparently didn't get the memo that as a Doctor he is supposed to be arrogant and lazy. He will likely be promoted soon, but because of his intelligence, drive, and proven results, not because of his education.

[az_gila]

I’ve worked with science PhD’s who have left academia to work in the private sector. Almost uniformally, I find them to be elitist, arrogant, and extremely lazy. As a policy, I will never hire a PhD. Ever.

---

There are a few exceptions, but I've noticed the same.

In electrical terms, they are High-Q circuits. Knowledgeable in a very narrow field, with little knowledge, or even common sense, in most other fields...:^)

[ottbmare]

I find them to be elitist, arrogant, and extremely lazy.

That's a very interesting observation. I've found arrogance among some few of them, but in general my experience has been just the opposite of yours. I've found Ph.D. scientists in both government and corporate research to be primarily interested in doing science, in doing interesting things with their brains. Many of them are kind husbands and fathers who have privately confided to me, "Thank God my employer doesn't know I'd pay to be able to do this research." They're so hard-working that their wives have to come and drag them home from the lab, and you will see their cars in the lab parking lot on Saturdays and Sundays.

[KosmicKitty]

What did they have the Ph.D. in??

i believe there’s a big difference between those with Ph.D.’s in art history and those with Ph.D.’s in physics.