OK, So I get my masters...What can I do with it?

After close to forty years in business I find myself a little uncertain as I tread the ground of Academia.

I am interested in the utility of a degree, particularly in college level teaching. My interests are in business and communications.

Under business I am mainly interested in marketing, especially sales. And I have a lot of expertise in insurance.

Under communications I am interested in vocal, non-verbal and written communications in and out of business from interpersonal to mass media.

So what will I be able to teach with an MBA? MLS (concentration or major in communications)? or whatever masters degree?

How acceptable is it to add concentrations (via certificate?)?

David

 

Don't want to bust your bubble, but we MBA's are a dime-a-dozen. If you seek an MBA make sure you get a concentration in an area. The generic MBA's are a nickle-a-dozen. The hard sciences are finding more opportunity in the jr college arena. You may want to look at an MLS with a concentration in math, biology, or english at Fort Hayes State U. Good Luck.

 

A regionally accredited MBA along with an extensive business background will qualify you to teach on adjunct faculty at a four-year institution, or on full-time faculty at a two-year community college. Most programs offer either a general MBA or a concentration(s), such as in Marketing. If you have a particular functional interest and/or wish to teach courses in that function, then a concentration certainly will enhance your credentials. As to certificates, at the graduate level an advanced certificate is taken after the master's degree and can be a competitive edge against other applicants with MBAs, all else being equal. A graduate certificate by itself without a master's will not open any doors into teaching in higher education. Also realize that if you are competing against a PhD or DBA, you'll likely be knocked out of the box. One last thing: If you are in your high 50s or early 60s, you may find it exceedingly difficult to gain entrance to a regular MBA program. If that's the case, find a regionally accredited Executive (EMBA) option. It isn't considered quite as rigorous or prestigious as the MBA, but can still land you on adjunct faculty in many cases. Full-time positions at four-year institutions require a doctorate. And so what can you teach? Certainly Marketing and Sales, which seem to be your forte. Bear in mind that the other side of the hiring equation is the slots which are open. For instance, there might be a couple of colleges in your town, one with a production course available and the other having an opening for organizational behavior. So timing and luck play a role too. I hope this helps.

 

Speaking as someone who has an old MSc (Chemistry) a MBA in 2000 and insurance certifications up the wazoo (CPCU, ARM & CPHRM), I suspect your best bet would be teaching at the community college level and/or Insurance Institute of America classes.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd

 

Thanks, Dr. Dave!

This is the sort of stuff I've been looking for. Along this line, I talked to an admistrator at one of the local community colleges today and he said I should be able to teach as an adjunct at community college level with a BA/BS. Also that given the
BA or the masters I should be able to teach in any area for which I could document 18 or more credit hours. I did not think to ask at what level, but I assume 200 or higher.

Is this normal practice?

Of course given the remunerations discussed I'm not sure why one would want to follow this line other than the shear joy of teaching....

Best wishes

 

Hmmm. Hadn't thought of the good old Insurance Institute. Local agents here have asked me to work up something for their continuing ed requirements. I am pursuing that of course, but am already credentialed.

Best wishes

 

There are some adjuncts at community colleges with a BA/BS, but it's almost always in a specialized subject where Master's-qualified people are scarce (like Computer Science).

As for the 18-hour minimum, I've only seen that listed for a graduate degree, as it would seem kind of light for a Bachelor's program.


Bruce

 

My experience in community college administration and as an adjunct faculty member suggests that the master's degree is more important in the liberal arts and sciences than in "practitioner" programs like business and IT. The "level" at community college tends to be introductory whatever the course number is, with the possible exception of some specialized continuing education, mostly non-credit, programs. (Examples I've run across are certification prep courses such as the American Production and Inventory Control Society and American Society for Quality Control.)

You're certainly right about the bucks. My adjunct assignments brought in my beer money or cigarette money, but probably not both. Still it's a rewarding experience.

Good luck.

TommyK

 

I don't think he was talking about the degree program itself. Rather that, given a degree, you would be able to teach in a subject area for which you had a sufficient amount of credits.

It seems likely that I could have a degree in business that might also include with electives 18+ hours in communication.

 

Could you expand on that a bit?

 

quote:
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Originally posted by kgec
...the master's degree is more important in the liberal arts and sciences than in "practitioner" programs like business and IT. The "level" at community college tends to be introductory whatever the course number is...
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Could you expand on that a bit?


__________________
David Cameron
Communicating Execellence

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As far as liberal arts and sciences, I simply meant that a master's (or higher) degree is pretty much de rigueur for someone teaching English or history or chemistry, but not for someone teaching business or IT. I'm sure this varies by geographic area, but at the community college where I worked, for example, I never met a CIS adjunct who had a master's. Some of the business adjuncts had MBAs (or MSMs, etc.), some not.

As for everything in a CC being "introductory," I'm just referring to the institution's mission of providing associate-level coursework or the first two-years' work toward a bachelor's degree to be transferred later to a four-year program. A typical community college accounting curriculum, for example, might include a two-semester general accounting course in the first year and a managerial accounting course and an introduction to finance course in the second year, but probably not a taxation course.

The main exception that I noted was for continuing education, non-degree programs that are aimed at adults who are already practitioners in their field. We did a lot of that sort of stuff in real estate and manufacturing and, in more urban settings, I've seen the same sort of thing for communications, graphic arts, IT, insurance, etc,

Hope that helps.

Regards.
TommyK

 

Got it. Thanks!

So you are saying the non-degree business programs were exceptions because they also did not require masters or because they did? (So I'm obtuse, already.)

David

 

well, yes and no.

t

 

communicating excellence

 

The scary part is I think I understand....

 

You will find that a masters degree is highly decorative on any wall.

When I complete a masters degree, I will probably file it away with my bachelors and associates degrees.

But if I had a doctorate....

 

Thanks for putting up with my flippancy.

Actually I didn't have much experience with the non-degree, continuing ed programs where I worked. We had a Dean of Continuiing Education and her realm seemed very much separate from the rest of the college.

The one experience I did have with the continuing education people came about because I was helping out at one of our small-town weekly newspapers and the dean wanted someone to do some kind of journalism class. She asked me for names of people who might be interested in running it.

I have the impression that that's the way things work on that side of the house: Someone (prospective student or instructor, local chapter of a professional organization, etc.) pitches the idea for a class, someone figures out whether or not the demand for it is there and, if it is, someone asks around for someone to put it together. It all felt very ad hoc and it doesn't seem like degrees were high on the list of things anyone was worrying about (to get back to the point of the thread )

I guess my bottom line is that, master's degree or not, you might want to keep in touch with the continuing education people as well as your other contacts at the community college you mentioned.

Best wishes.

TommyK

 

ROFL!

 

That appears to be the route here. Basically, I have come up with an idea that interested me, pitched it, and with few exceptions had it in the schedule. This is not to say anyone might show up. The promotion is less than stella, but given available budgets...

Yes. Actually one of my main reasons for a BS or BA is to qualify for continuing ed with an online outfit. Meanwhile, back at the local community college, the only difference between the continuing ed side (degree helpful but not required) and the credit curriculum side (degree required) is 2 (count 'em) 2 dollars an hour!

David

 

David,

The reason you're getting so many different replies to your question is because it's a complex issue with a lot of variables.

You know your marketing, so you'll probably understand the supply/demand aspect. I live near Washington D.C., for instance, and to be competitive - even at the Community College level - you better have a doctorate. Why? Because everyone and their sister's cousin has a Master's degree. In some parts of the country, however, the situation is quite different. Just like in public secondary schools, Community Colleges set in very rural or very urban settings (read: low pay) have trouble filling their vacancies and may throw contracts at any warm body with a BS from an accreditted college. (In Business and IT, that is. There's still enough people with MA's in Humanities and Social Sciences to keep the bar higher in those areas.)

Secondly, you have to understand the politics of post-secondary education. Check a "College Guide" sometime and take a good look at how colleges are "rated." There's almost always a section for "% of Faculty with Ph.D.'s." This is a huge deal. If you're competing with a Ph.D. or D.B.A., you're probably toast. Even if the doctorate holder is a mouth-breather with no relevant real-world experience and a complete lack of teaching skills - he's probably going to beat you out because he has that piece of paper.

Politics typically aren't as bad at the Community College level as they are in other colleges and universities, but they still play their part. The way this typically works out is this: since they can't get one doctorate-level professor to fill an IT or business slot (and hence, raise their prestige level), they fill the slot with 2-4 "adjunct" instructors with lesser education and save a hell of a lot of salary and benefits money in the process.

In short: if you want a well-paying job at the college of your choice, dig in for the D.B.A. or Ph.D. If you're willing to accept a little less money and travel a little more, check out California and other states with critical needs.

Good Luck,
Ben