Does it really matter what your doctorate is in?

Ted, this guy's field is Church History. My son took a class with him at seminary -- actually a field experience in Tunisia and said he was wonderful. Wonderful enough to make a point to introduce him to Mr. mcdirector and myself anyway

 

Oh my! Please excuse the hiccup!

 

St Petresburg College formerly St Pete Jr College. I asked after they changed to a college offering BS/BA degrees

 

St Petresburg College formerly St Pete Jr College. I asked after they changed to a college offering BS/BA degrees

 

St Petresburg College formerly St Pete Jr College. I asked after they changed to a college offering BS/BA degrees

 

St Petresburg College formerly St Pete Jr College. I asked after they changed to a college offering BS/BA degrees

 

Wanting to quickly boost your post count?

 

That is my goal in life. Really, I want to catch up to Rich...

 

OK, here's my twist. I'm screening resumes to set up interviews. The person you've described (MBA CJ, PhD in Somethingology) has gotten through the first screening because of the 18 credit thing (I'm still not sure that's not a myth but, hey, it's your scenarion so let's play with it). I've got another resume to look at too. This person has the same MBA CJ, same 18 credits, etc. However, instead of earning a PhD in Somethingology, this person has written two or three journal articles (and had them published) and they also have participated in some seminars that were well regarded.

I might talk to both but one thing I'm going to be thinking is, "This person with the PhD in Somethingology isn't really that interested in CJ. If he was he wouldn't have taken all that time, effort and expense to get the PhD in another field. The other guy however, is clearly more focused in his efforts and equally motivated. Therefore, I'm going with person number two."

I think the problem with your scenario is that you're describing it as if it were occurring in a vaccuum. In real life these are competitive positions and piling on irrelevant advanced degrees doesn't necessarily advance your position in this competition. Minimum qualifications (in this era where there are so many MBA programs and graduates) may just not be enough. In my scenario the PhD could conceivably work against you.
Jack

 

Jack Tracey,

How very interesting! Your reasoning follows the same line of thought that shows up when law students consider going into a dual degree program (i.e. MBA/JD). Employers, at least at commerical firms, are thought to ask themselves whether this applicant is really committed to practicing law for a career or is he likely to disappear into the bowels of some client or other, where the earning potential is MUCH greater. If his ambition is to pratice law, why did he bother with an extra year or so of school and a second degree?

Why, indeed? I happen to think that it is a good question for an interviewer to ask.

 

I checked with the Assistant Dean of the CC where I teach--the 18 cr. hr. thingie is very much a real thing.

Depending on the regional agency and how creative the school's willing to be to find those 18 graduate hours in a field, you might have technically less than the required hours in an area but they'll still get you "qualified". They let me teach all manner of American Government courses even though I don't technically have 18 graduate hours in it. I have a law degree and am a third of the way through an AACSB MBA, but while my law degree was a lot about government and my unfinished MBA studies include one class that might of, kind of, sort of be called government-related, there just aren't 18 hours total on my graduate transcripts that say "government"--it actually adds up to 9 cr. hr. that have the word "government". But they make it work for me, and nobody from the accrediting agencies has complained--and they do check. For example, as badly as I wanted to teach Economics, as much as I knew full well I could teach Micro and Macro to Freshmen and Sophomores, they furrowed their brows as they contemplated my transcripts and said: "Sorry, we can't make it work."

But, I'll be starting my third year as an adjunct this Fall, teaching the occasional business law class--for which I'm very well qualified--, but more commonly government--for which I'm not technically qualified. But alas, no Econ, they just couldn't fit my square peg transcripts into that round hole.

 

Re: Re: Does it really matter what your doctorate is in?

I wrote in my original post:

"I've observed (from a student's perspective) some tenure track hiring for science and humanities-type subjects at universities that offer graduate programs.

All of the applicants had doctorates. (There was no '18 unit' thing.)

The positions that the applicants were competing for might have involved the broad ability to teach classes from across the undergraduate syllabus, but they also emphasized specialized competence in a particular sub-discipline or orientation. The employer was looking for the ability to teach advanced courses in that stuff and for the ability to perform significant research in it. The new hire was expected to be the department's man or woman in the area of interest and someone that would enhance the department's reputation.

So the interviewers were very interested in what the applicants' dissertation topic was, in what work they had already done in the area of interest, in who recommended them and in what they had published. Not only was the doctorate looked at closely, there was a lot more involved than that."

Does anyone disagree with that? Do you think that my observation was either mistaken or atypical?

Are doctorates and their details irrelevant in university hiring, just so long as the candidate has amassed 18 units along the way in whatever he or she wants to teach? Is that all that universities are typically looking for when they hire a professor?

I wrote:

"I'm inclined to think that the '18 unit' thing is mostly a myth. Perhaps it does hold true at the community college adjunct level in certain high demand subjects where there are lots of class sections to teach each semester and where there's difficulty in finding qualified faculty to teach them. Perhaps business or CJ at an unstylish rural community college or something."

That seems to be the direction that the thread has taken. Now everyone talking about adjunct positions at community colleges that seem to be desperate for faculty. That suggests high-demand subjects with lots of class sections to fill, in places where hiring isn't particularly competitive.

Of course, in that kind of environment the original question is moot, since doctorates wouldn't be expected in the first place.

 

Hey, he's only 11 away from Senior Member.

 

Re: Re: Re: Does it really matter what your doctorate is in?

I think this is good thinking. Where I live, even adjunct hiring at community colleges is competitive. The 18creditthing means next to nothing. Everybody has those credits and plenty more.

As the issue of the examination of the dissertation, I believe that for tenure track positions at even small liberal arts colleges, this is looked at quite closely. It is my impression that people cross the country to interview for these jobs. I'd guess that the interviews are like very long, very polite interrogations.
Jack