I have a question that I believe I know the answer to but would like the opinion of others. Is is safe to believe that long distance, online higher education delivery will grow and therefore, the demand for faculty well versed in online higher ed delivery will also grow? What do you think? I'm considering a career move based upon this thought. Regards, Ken
It seems to be a growing trend. What kind of career move are you considering? It seems like the du jour thing around here is to be an online adjunct. Most everyone on here (generalization I know) is getting their Master's (18cr in a subject) so they can teach online. It seems like you might be able to make a living if you taught classes for a number of schools. Most members on here do it to make some supplemental money - or perhaps to feed their education addiction as in Randell's case You might be heading into a field that will very shortly become saturated. But, who knows...there's always opportunities for pepole with talent and ambition. I have a couple of questions for you, since you are a career counselor. How come a lot of people in that field (Career Counselor) write such BS articles? I understand the barriers to entry into the field are non-existent, but I wonder if these people have ever looked for a real job in their lives? Do you ever read the Yahoo career stuff? Complete are utter BS...I mean people need real help looking for jobs not statistics from BLS (usually wrong and WAY behind actual job markets). They have titles like, Make 80K with just an associates degree. Make $30 an hour with these Green Jobs. Meanwhile at the bottom it states that most of the jobs require degrees plus 5-8 years of experience. I guess reality would not sell to well. I read an article from a CC and his entire premise was that job seekers were afraid of change and that if they would embrace change then they might get a job. Anyway sorry for the rant, as you can see it is a real sore sport for me. Your website seems set up OK, just curious about the field. How do you make money? Is it all a social media scam where everyone links to each others blogs and twitter accounts so they look like they are virale? Interesting to say the least. Anyway, I have been on this board for a while (registered in 2003) and I have seen a change in attitudes since even that short of time. I am in the military and DL is a huge thing for us. But, I would say it is starting to catch on with the "regular" people. Good luck in your new career if you make a change! Cory
Hard to say. The demand for regionally-accredited distance learning is growing. However, there are so many doctorally-prepared faculty available to teach online that it is unclear whether there are going to be full-time teaching opportunities in the full online modality. Moreover, all those graduates of online masters programs think they want to teach online. Still, adjunct work is growing, but full-time adjunct teaching is a road to financial ruin. My advice is to think of another full time career besides online teaching. Online teaching is just an interesting part time job.
There are some full time faculty positions available at some of the online universities. I cannot name the one where I work, privacy reasons, but we have a few full time online faculty positions available. The problem is that you had to have been an adjunct with them for at least a year and have a doctorate. These jobs are hard to come by, and last time I checked, there were 4 such positions available. Besides working from home full time and earning benefits, you are put on salary. In some cases you could probably earn more working at several universities as an adjunct, instead of becoming a full time faculty member, but the perks of working from home and benefits entices many. Competition for these jobs are fierce, I was talking to the director of HR the other day and he said that they had over 1,000 applicants for one such position they just posted!
Online technologies dominate younger people. Ipods, I phones plus facebook, Twittter and EBay are key examples of how the world has changed. It seems to me that the mode of communication between people has changed dramatically. The mere fact that I am communicating this thought from half a world away is evidence of this. My belief is that distance learning as an alternative learning mechanism has to be viewed in a global context. Educational markets. like nearly all others, will be global. Universities most likely will become globalised with instructors and students linked across time zones and continents. Most corporations of any size are already doing business like this.I had an issue with my computer the other day and I was communicating with a technician in New Delhi to fix it. Distance learning is the only learning methodology that allows educational corporation to mirror this trend. The footprints already set by the young people will be future of learning technologies. People who communicate differently, will need to taught in ways that mirror their patterns of communication. Nearly all degrees have some elements that can be taught online. Some degrees can be totally taught online. My view, in summary, global distance learning will grow as will adjunct faculty. Most of adjunct faculty will teach for multiple institutions and may also have an industry job. Research institutions will remain, but global industry partnerships will dominate. Universities may sell research expertise more openly competitively. Maybe even franchise it? Research degrees may be done through the industry partners with the university marking and issuing the degree. I guess the larger question will be the role the US will play in this. There seems to be a conservatism there concerning this model of learning. In Asia, there isn't. Powerhouse Asian tiger economies appear to be embracing it more quickly. I was reading somewhere the other day that China was now the biggest English speaking country. It appears that English will dominate as the language of business. Adjunct faculty from the US may, in the future, be picked up by Asian educational institutions for delivery of distance learning product. The Chinese degree may be the hotly sought commodity.
Globalization of education? What about educational prices? Will they carry a global price or a regional price? Will an Indian from India pay the same American tuition rates as a California student at an online university? How will tuition rates cross time zones and continents?
A few years ago when i took a Graduate IT class (MS-IT) class at Aspen University, my professor(Indian) was actually teaching from India.
Hello Cory: Thanks for your advice! I agree bth regarding the "BS" nature of may "career" articles on the internet. I believe a good deal of it is "marketing" by folks who really aren't certified advisers/counselors but are doing "keyword" internet marketing. Career planning is a good deal of work and self-discovery combined with pointed research into jobs withing fields and career paths within career paths...I fear many Americans are hooked on a "quick-fix" to job problems because most Americans (70%) do not like what they do for a living. I love career advising; but, I'm 61 and am looking to fulfill some personal goals (military history oriented Ph.D. before I die) with creating a part-time stream of income down the reoad to pad my retirement. My final thoughts on the adjuct online teaching is that while the positions are hard to find it would be worth it and "networking" will help to find them. I also feel that we are at the tip of the iceburg if you will as online education is a world thing and will grow tremendously. I would also not be surpried to see the US lag behind as our higher ed thinking is still so "brick and morter" only oriented. All the best to you, and I think you said you were in the military...big THANK YOU! for that. Regards, Ken Meyer
Products go across boundaries now and prices are set. I suspect that it will be no different to the pricing in other areas. Prices do vary according to where you are. Efficient providers of quality product will dominate. Car manufacturing in Asia is interesting because the product of many countries which is finally assembled in a determined place. Maybe it will be like that. Time will tell.
Ohhhhhhh you made a good point!!! For some 40 to 50 years, the Japanese have built cars at Asian prices, but have sold them in the U.S. at American prices!!! What a profit!!! No wonder Japan is one of the larges economies in the world!!! As the U.S. dollar and economy continue to deflate, will the ROI for Asian manufactures stay the same -- with everything else being equal? Time will tell.
It may be time to reverse the process. If the US dollar plummets, then US universities are well situated to go into Asia. I have done one degree from the US by distance learning and, unfortunately, the dollar worked against me, but the degree program suited me. If this changes, as it appears it is, then distance learning product could be a great export earner. It may enable the foreign student to bypass the corruption payments that go on in some Asian institutions as well. The export earnings could then offset the local student's costs. I read "rubbishing" of the distance learning product in US media, by comedians etc. Distance learning is not necessarily viewed as inferior in other places, so the rest of the world suspects that the US product must be substandard. Why would these comments be made if it was not so? Press comments can be very damaging. US style accreditation is not replicated elsewhere and is not understood much outside the US. DETC and RA debates compound the damage and causes more confusion for foreigners. In the majority of cases, the US distance learning educational product is fine and of a high standard. These comments are depriving export earnings for the US, not to mention its influence. The Bits have used their educational process to drive national influence for centuries. If the US govt is serious about export earnings, then it needs to do something to offset this negativity. The critics need to get over it and catch up with the rest of the world. Look at the reputation of Open University (UK). How do the US critics of distance learning explain its high standing or are they isolationist and protectionist of vested interests? In the interim, Australia is making a fortune from Asia. I will have to check up the criminal code to see if I can be indicted for treasonous disclosure of state secrets.
