For those with an online PhD, please discuss how it has helped you obtain a teaching position, get promoted, or any other financial benefits. I'm looking for an ROI-type analysis. Thank you in advance! Gary
I am also very interested in this. I am thinking about applying to the TUI Ph.D. program. May I ask about you experience with the program, and specifically if it may help me move into full-time college teaching? As background, I have a lot of business experience, MBA and MA fromB&M schools, and am teaching this semester as an adjunct at a small college in NC. I have communicated with TUI, and the professors I have spoken to have been very helpful. I like the fact that they describe the school as an online research university, and it appears there are opportunities to collaborate with professors to publish. BUT, this far they have not answered my questions about if others have used the program to move into academia, nor put me into touch with other students. I have asked twice. Many thanks.
In my case, a DBA from NSU (a short residency program) allowed me to move to teaching full-time. My ROI has been extremely high, partly in a financial sense, but more importantly in a quality of life sense. I am now doing what I love - teaching and research. I didn't mind industry, but academia has been a great improvement in my life. If you are looking for a financial return - I wouldn't pursue a doctorate, unless you have a very low discount rate. You'll spend a bunch of money and devote a lot of time for 4-5 years before you see the return. Also, you could complete a program and find it difficult to locate a job. Pursuit of a doctorate needs to be based on a love for your discipline and learning. Regards - Andy QUOTE]Originally posted by GBrown For those with an online PhD, please discuss how it has helped you obtain a teaching position, get promoted, or any other financial benefits. I'm looking for an ROI-type analysis. Thank you in advance! Gary [/QUOTE]
Perhaps I should clarify my inquiry. Dr. Borchers reply is exactly what I need to know. I'm not just interested in the financial aspects, although that is the primary focus of the discussion. Please feel free to share ANY information that may be useful for the hopeful. Thank you.
THe same with me. I am not concerned with the financial aspects. I just want to be comfortable that all of the work involved with an online Ph.D. will help me attain the goal of moving into academia.
PhD Utility I work for a large pharmaceutical. They LOVE people with doctorates. It seems to help many move up the ladder. Naturally, they like to have Ph.D. people in scientific slots but you would be surprised at how they like them in the IT areas that interact with scientific areas. Likely insurance companies and such care less about Ph.D. degrees. However, I might be wrong about that. I work with many Indians. They all think that doctoral people cannot really peform work and those that can do work should just have a master's degree. Interesting cultural concepts. Most Indian men I have met only think there are three degrees worth getting ...1) medical degree 2) computer science degree master's 3) engineering degree master's. All else is junk. Of course, these were h1-b people here doing IT, too.
While I generally agree with Andy's comments about rates of return, I'll also say that my Ph.D. is the direct cause of me doubling my salary after graduation. The difference between old and new salaries will pay the entire cost of the Ph.D. in one year. The trickle-down works like this: my company can charge much higher rates to customers for my services because I'm a Ph.D. They pay me at a much higher rate as a result. The trick is to find a situation where this quid pro quo is used. Government and government contracting are two examples. (The degree also got me my job at UoP, but that was salary-neutral. But it does cause UoP to pay me a higher rate as an adjunct, which is nice.) But, again, I'm with Andy on this one. Be careful about setting out to do a doctorate in hopes of significantly higher incomes. Not only might you not realize them, but I'm not so sure that's a successful motivational strategy for getting through the rigors of such an endeavor.
To put some numbers on this "value" thing. I took the standard FAFSA loan route for my doctorate. I paid in the region of $45,000 for my program. I am now paying approx $250/month at 3.25% interest. I will be paying this for, likely, the rest of my life. These loan debts do not follow you after death. That is, they are not inherited by your survivors. So, here is how I look at it. For the cost of a bottom of the line, cheap Kia, I have a world of opportunities that have opened up to me. Has it been worth $250/mo? That and more. I have no problems justifying the cost based on my own satisfaction. I could make more money in some situtations, without the doctorate, but it is not about as much money as you can make. For me it is about opportunities that would not have come and self satisfaction...easily worth $250/mo for me.
My Ph.D. helped me professionally (salary increase and rank) at the MNC I work for. I am also teaching part-time at a local college to strengthen my teaching experience. My aim is to shift to a full time academic work upon my retirement. Eli Ph.D. Touro University International
In My Situation.. I have gone over this and over this myself. I am tenured at a community college as many of you know. I have three grad degrees and am what they call "MA+75" on the salary scale. Getting a doctorate would get me another $1800 a year and about $4500 more a year in my adjunct job with UMUC. Given the high cost of these programs, I am having real trouble trying to justify it. Although I'd love to do something like this as an academic exercise, I am hard pressed to justify the huge monetary cost.
Re: In My Situation.. I am struggling with the same financial questions and seem unable to justify the costs of pursuing a PhD. The cost factor has put a damper on my internal motivation, so much so that it is like trying to light a wet match.
Re: In My Situation.. Think beyond the current tangible benefits, imagining all the possibilities that await.....
I have been working in academia for about 17 years and have been on many hiring boards. Currently, there are very few people with online doctorates teaching as full-time tenure-track faculty at the university level. Judging by the numbers, an online doctorate would have greatest utility for these areas of higher education: 1. Community college teaching: Most full-time faculty positions require a masters degree. Having a doctorate would boost your prestige and salary. I know several full-time community college faculty who have pursued PhDs from Capella, Walden, etc. and there appears to be a high rate of acceptance of these degrees. 2. University or community college administration: I know several administrators at colleges and universities with degrees that they achievedd primarily via DL. They have been quite successful. 3. University adjuct faculty: Many universities hire adjunct faculty with masters degrees as part-time faculty. Getting the doctorate often provides the same benefits as listed above for community college faculty. Many times, the adjunct who does a great job gets extra consideration for any full-time openings. Now, does this mean that someone with a PhD or EdD from TUI, NCU, Walden, Capella, etc. cannot get a full-time faculty position at the university level. Not at all; however, I need to be realistic that, at the present time, the chances are not great. Some will argue that the current situtation exists primarily because online doctoral programs are so new. I would agree with this. I am hopeful that more active and productive scholars with non-traditional doctorates will join the ranks of the full-time faculty. This will definitely boost the acceptability of such degrees in academia. Tony Pina Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University
Re: Re: In My Situation.. It is reasonable that a decision to go down the doctoral program path might require a known financial ROI. My motivation to jump into the pond was primarily motivated by the connotation in Rich's statement. I was not looking at an immediate dollar per hour or annual raise requirement to calculate the ROI. I was looking at the possibilities that it would offer, juxtaposed to the possibilities without it. I made my decision on faith and reason. I had no doubt about the potential financial benefits, but knowing the exact dollar amount up front was not a criteria for my decision. I understand why it might be for some. For me, a PhD represented access to a room full of possibilities; access that would otherwise be blocked without it. Knowing with a calculable degree of certainty what those possibilities were was not critical to the decision.
I agree with Tony here, I have friends that spent 6 years in a full time PhD program at a top tier University and are looking for post doc or visiting positions because they are not able to get full time tenure positions. However, there is also the time factor. Currently, there is a lack of accounting teachers so a PhD from any accredited University would work as people with MBAs and CPAs are being hired as full timers because of the lack of people available in this field. I also think that a DL PhD from a school that has B&M programs can be easier to sell than a school that only has internet based programs. I'm more in favour of schools like Henley College or any state Australian or UK school for that reason. Academics tend to have a bias against internet based schools but this might change in the future. From the internet schools mentioned here, I would think that TUI can be perceived a bit more credible due to their association with a B&M school in New York. I also know at least one full time faculty member with a PhD from TUI working at a respectable mexican University and few working as adjuncts in the US.
The utility of a Ph.D. is also dependent on your chosen field. My decision to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology is based on multiple factors. I already have a MS in the field and am hoping to get licensed as a professional counselor. A Ph.D. in clinical psychology will give me a higher salary and the possibility of greater mobility and greater ease of licensure reciprocity across the country. Also, there is a move afoot to give Ph.D. level psychologists the ability to perscribe psychotropic medications. These new laws are already the case in New Mexico and Lousiana. My home state of Tennessee is likely going to be the next state to ratify such a law. This would have a great impact on my potential professional growth. Yet my pursuit of this is not just based on practical considerations.. I find that I can not turn off my desire for the degree.
