Advice for Obtaining Full-Time Employment as an Accounting/Business Professor

Hi

To take a break from CPA studying, I've been spending a few hours reading about becoming a professor. I have to say, some threads paint a very bleak existence, even if you have a PhD

Anyway, I'm finishing up a MBA/MS Accounting combo this semester. I also chose a finance concentration in the MBA, which means that I have 18+ graduate hours in finance and 18+ graduate hours in accounting.

Traditional teaching experience includes business course tutoring and teaching math recitations. I have around 1-2 years of "traditional" work experience, but have engaged in enough online activities, consulting, etc. that I have a pretty interesting resume/vitae at this point.

My goal is to have the CPA license (not just passed exams) in hand and then look for a full-time teaching gig, or at least 2-3 online part-time positions that cobble together a decent payday (is $30k with benefits or $40k without for a comparable 4/4 or 5/5 schedule a pipe dream?).

I really don't want to have a long commute if I'm just an adjunct. In that case, I'll just find something else to do

I also really don't want to move and start a PhD in Accounting program in a different state since I'm pretty settled where I am and I'm more interested in teaching than research (though I have some research areas I'm already pretty involved in already, they're just niche, but still heavily related to accounting, and don't fit in with typical auditing/tax research).

Through good circumstances, I can continue attending my local B&M state school and pursue either a PhD in Education or an EdD. I'm leaning towards the PhD if I go that route since some of the classes I've already taken could count towards the "subject area focus" and I could finish in maybe 2-3 years.

Then again, the feedback I've gotten is that if I'm not interested in working for a board of education, or teaching education classes, the PhD is a waste. Honestly though, looking at the prospective PhD curriculum, while some of it may be "fluff," I'm genuinely interested in a good portion of it, and I can gear the dissertation towards accounting/business education.

Mainly, I'd really appreciate a reality check on my plans. I'm not looking to get rich off of teaching. However, it's disheartening when it looks like you need to have 30+ years of work experience plus a flood of alphabet soup after your name to get hired; I came across at least one faculty member who was a MBA, CPA, CMA, CFE, CIA, CFM, CGFM, CVA and they were JUST AN ADJUNCT

Thanks for reading my wall of text

 

Now that I've done some more research, I'm kinda leaning towards the PhD in Education if I had to pick between the 2. I know a PhD in Business or a DBA is preferred, but the PhD in Education is from a B&M flagship state school and I could work on it part-time while seeking a position at a community or small liberal arts college. Any thoughts on this?

I don't think something like the AACSB bridge program is a possibility, but I do see that some schools like Walden offer a Post-Doctoral Bridge to Business Administration certificate. The cost doesn't seem terrible (>$15k), nor the time commitment (~15 credit hours). Would a combo including this be beneficial for seeking a tenure-track position at an ACBSP accredited school?

 

If you want to have a shoot at a tenure track in Accounting, the PhD in Education might not be the best.
There are quite a few DBAs that are AACSB accredited that are affordable from British and European schools. Just do a MSc in Accounting and top it up with a DBA from an AACSB accredited school.
If you are not interested in teaching at a AACSB accredited school and money is an issue, you can try a PhD by publication from a British School that might cost as little as 5K (check forum for a list of schools that provide this option).

You might want to seek advice from prof Robert W. McGee, he has several doctorates in Accounting (3 out of 7 he holds) that were earned by publication.

Education – Robert W. McGee

 

I teach accounting courses online, and your goal of teaching full time at a University versus picking up odd jobs as an online adjunct are 2 different paths.

RFValve gives some good advice on the on ground, tenure track side.

For an online adjunct, with a PhD / CPA, you will be towards the top of the list once you establish yourself teaching a few classes with good results. I see more and more ads requiring a PhD to teach even Accounting 101. You would not need a AACSB accredited PhD to go this route, although probably recommended.

 

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WHAT A SLACKER -

He has lectured or consulted in more than 30 countries and has earned 13 doctorates from universities in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe .

Robert W. McGee

 

Right, buh bye :wave:Spammer..:spam:

 

The Post doctoral certificate from Walden wouldn't satisfy the 18 credit requirement for teaching accounting at most schools. The other issue is credibility, if someone has a DBA in HR and all of the sudden wants to teach accounting with just a 15 credit certificate from an online school, this wouldn't be enough to show serious commitment to the field. The certificate would serve very well someone that already has a lot of accounting experience and is a certified (e.g. CPA) and that just needs an ice on the cake to get the job but not so much someone that wants to break in into the field.

Most of the job ads call for a PhD or DBA in business with 18 credits in accounting, I would think that a MSc in Accounting from an AACSB accredited school on top of a DBA would be more than enough to satisfy the requirements for a tenure track. I think that a CPA or CMA would be an asset as most schools prepare for these certifications.

 

Thanks for the responses so far

I have at least 24+ hours each in Finance and Accounting courses at the graduate level with my MBA and MS Accounting. Honestly, I'm not all that interested in paying to do a DBA or PhD in Accounting via distance learning, nor do I really want to move to do a B&M PhD/DBA. I know the pay on a per class basis for online adjunct work is paltry: is $1500 per already developed class, meaning you facilitate discussions and grade assignments versus having to make everything from scratch, a pipe dream?

If something in that range or above is possible, I see 20+ classes a year being a good target to shoot for. Mainly, I'm looking for some level of routine work in academia to put my degrees to use, and the semi self-directed nature of the job appeals to me since I have some other projects I'm involved in.

I would consider moving if I were to get a full-time, tenure-track offer at say a community college or more teaching-oriented 4 year. Would just the degrees and hours I've mentioned, along with the CPA, be sufficient for this, or will they still want a PhD? I've seen a few PhD's and EdD's in Education for the sort of schools I'm targeting, but I've also seen a decent amount of Master's only faculty. Just curious if this is more of a holdover from years past and that, in the future, they'll require you to have a PhD to teach Associate's level bookkeeping courses.

Thanks

 

I really don't see the point of an EdD for an accounting teaching career, you have more than enough to become an adjunct or full time teacher in Accounting. Check Accounting Jobs - HigherEdJobs

Many just require a MSc in Accounting that you already have, the EdD would be an ice on the cake but not required for a non tenure track position.