What to do? (active duty military, wanna be teacher when I retire)

Here is my status--B.S. and Masters in Business Admin, active duty enlisted with about six years till I retire. My long term goal is to supplemant my retirement with a moderate income from teaching (at whatever level, preferably college or junior college, whatever). The Air Force paid for my B.S. and some of my MBA; they will not help me out with tuition for another masters degree. My forte is in communication, specifically writing or technical. What are my options here? I am thinking about an MAIS from Western New Mexico with an emphasis and thesis in writing since it is very affordable. I would eventually like to use my G.I. bill for a PHD in Comm/English or some such related subject. Another option would be going to the Air Force Institute of Technology (if they accept me). Of course I will apply for that, especially since I would get paid to go there, but the chances of that are slim. So for all of you military distance learners and distance learners in general, what do you suggest? My thinking is that I could use my MAIS to be submitted to a reputable PHD program (I know there are a couple distance ones out there--Old Dominion and Texas Tech) or a traditional one when I retire. Thoughts?

 

Hi pheine78. Welcome to Degree Info. I hope you will find all the answers you are looking for and enjoy the experience. You can certainly get into a good doctoral program with a MAIS degree. The problem with it is the fact that it is a generalist degree which would make you an expert in....nothing much. :smile: Not to put it down, because it's a great degree, but in my experience, and some here may disagree, people are looking for experts. Your MBA would be just as good for getting into a doctoral program and you could skip a step that way. There is nothing wrong with getting a MAIS, I'm just not sure it would be any better than your MBA you already have.

Getting a PhD will not automatically make you attractive as a higher education teacher. The most salient factor in being able to get a university teaching job is whether you have experience in the field. There are PhD's out there who have great difficulty finding a teaching job because they have no practical experience in the field they have specialized in. It does not seem fair, but it happens. Therefore, due to your experience, a degree in English seems to be the best choice. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of English teaching gigs out there.

One more caveat, getting a university job is really tough because there are many people like you (and me) who are trying to get in. That does not mean it's impossible and, if you are exceptional, you might can pull it off. It is not a slam dunk, however. Sorry for all of the negative but it's better to know the challenges going in.

PS. I wish I could look forward to a military retirement at an early age. Only one problem, I was never in the military. Dang! Best of luck in your decisions.

 

Thanks SurfDoctor! As far as the MAIS goes, wouldn't it be just as good as an MA English if that was my concentration? From the looks of it, all the classes I would take are in writing or English, so the learning level would seem to be about the same. I was also looking at the PHD program at Regent University in Comm...any insight on that? I have searched this site, Google, ect, but I still am not sold on whether they are reputable or not? Anything you could add would be great. Thanks again for your prompt reply.

 

The MAIS might be usable, but not as good as a degree in English, if that's what you wanted to teach. Regent is a Christian university but I have no experience with it, however, I'm sure other members here can shed some light on its value. If you are looking at Christian universities, I would also suggest Liberty University. I'm in the doctoral program there and I love it.

 

You and I are sitting in a similar spot. I have 3.5 to go until 20.

My take on Regent is that it is a fine school. The wife and I have a good friend who is working on the PhD in Comm (he already teaches comm full time at a small college). My superintendent did the master's in organizational leadership through them a few years ago. I also know a chaplain who did his MDiv in-residence through Regent. All three of them have nothing but good things to say about their programs.

 

From a very broad perspective, get the PhD / DBA / Ed.D, "terminal degree." Then, honestly, it will mostly be a matter of deciding WHERE to teach, not "if."

I have been teaching online 10 years and the market went from a MBA being good enough / lots of interest, to getting harder to find GOOD spots unless you have a doctorate. I am still teaching, but not as much as I want.

Not sure where you are stationed, but if you are stable and there is a LOCAL university with doctorate program, that is the cheapest option (probably.) Otherwise a DL doctorate and might as well finish BEFORE you get out, you might even try to start teaching NOW with your MBA. That way you already start getting "experience" and it will help pay for the doctorate.

Six years from now you will be "DR PHeine78" with several years of teaching experience and LOTS of choices for your next career!!

Final thought, THANK YOU for your service to our country!!

 

Old Dominion and Texas Tech are both good choices, but it's difficult to find a reputable higher ed teaching job if you don't have some work experience. For-profits are paying so little right now, it likely won't feel worth it if you can't earn some real money (like you could at a junior college or state school).

It sounds like you don't really have a subject you're interested in, you would just like to be a teacher. Why not do secondary ed in that case? Junior colleges and non-profits want to see work experience or research expertise, if those avenues aren't interesting for you why go through the difficulty and multi-year inconvenience of a PhD. (A reputable part-time program will take at least 4 years to complete, potentially much longer if it's in a field that is different from your masters)

If you wanted to do secondary ed, I would recommend UMUC for a MAT, since they're offering many scholarships because of private donors. By the way pheine78 did you get your BA from UMUC? If so, then you can't put just "University of Maryland" on your resume (also makes your signature misleading). Just thought it was likely since you're active.