If he has PHDs in Physics, Chemistry, Statistics, and Biology, and wrote decent disortations in each of those disciplines, than I would think that his problem has nothing to do with a lack of education and training in terms of finding a decent job.
His problem almost has to be in how he presents himself in the interview/application process. Something there must be very lacking. Perhaps he also has a financial/spending/debt problem...but even then, he should be able to find a very decent paying job.
No number of degrees will help with a person who cannot present themselves in such a way that conveys value to the employer in hiring them.
No amount of pay will overcome a person that always spends more than they have or take in.
Now, I do not know your acquaintenace...but I do know that any person who has gone through what they had to go through to successfully earn those four PHDs should be able to find a very decent job, short of other, non-educational related issues.
Oh well...I wish him luck and success.
Agreed 100%!
In my opinion, education is only a portion of what can make you successful. There are many intangibles that don't look that important and cannot be quantified like a degree, but contribute significantly to one's success. This guy may lack significantly in that department. Mainly, it is a strategy issue. One has to make a sound strategy if he/she wants to be successful. This is not too much different than formulating strategies in battles. If the strategy is wrong, you will not succeed no matter how hard you work/fight.
First of all, in his view, education is a part of being successful. what I mean is that he believes that getting a Ph.D. is a goal. However, education should only be a path to one's success and should never be viewed as a goal. The goal is to have a successful career, a happy family and ultimately a good life. Education is one of the ways, perhaps the easiest and the least stressful way, to get you there. Secondly, it has been engraved in his head that he should get the highest degree there is in any field he gets into. I guess this makes him feel smarter. And thirdly, he is simply too picky in terms of finding a job. I have heard him complaining about job interviews and things a few times. To summarize, he is more interested in the jobs, for which he is NOT qualified. On the other hand, he has no interest in the jobs that actually fit him. The more degrees he has, the more picky he gets because he thinks that he has become better with those degrees and thus should get a better job and better pay. Even as he is realizing his mistakes and is trying to lower himself down from the pedestal, he is still thinking that a degree in computer science would get him out of the hole that he himself dug. Ans then, he is too afraid of change. Although he changes fields all the time, he still stays in academia. That is the environment that he is familiar with. Many have suggested to him that he should try industry. His degrees will get him into Wall Street (physics, his math skills will be useful in finance), large pharmaceuticals (chemistry, biology and statistics), or oil/gas (physics and chemistry) with no difficulties. Yet, he doesn't want to leave academia and he thinks a job in the industry makes him look less smart.
Like you said, education is not his problem.
