Decided NOT to get my Ph.D. !!!

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Doctor Doctor, Nov 8, 2009.

Loading...
  1. Doctor Doctor

    Doctor Doctor New Member

    Well, after reading some threads from Phinished.org and seeing how much sustained time, effort, and commitment is required over 4-5 years, I have decided not to get my Ph.D.
     
  2. Doctor Doctor

    Doctor Doctor New Member

    In the end, I don't need a Ph.D., as I can be an adjunct professor at a community college with my master's degrees. That's if I even decide to pursue that route down the road. I really wanted the Ph.D. to be called Doctor and give added credibility to my independent written works that I plan to publish. Instead of working on a doctoral degree, I am going to spend my time on hobbies and on actually writing those works. What do you think about my decision?
     
  3. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I'm kind of leaning in that direction too. I'm not sure if it makes sense to put that much time, effort and money into the Ph.D. I just dunno.
     
  4. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator


    Well, if it is right for you then it is right. No one else can decide for you to get a PhD - it is a huge undertaking. To earn a PhD only to be called doctor and drive the ego as a writer seems pretty weak as a motivator. In the words of Dave Wagner (can't believe I am saying this), You don't have sufficient motivation to complete a doctoral program. .

    I want to complete a PhD and I have had a few fleeting doubts. Perhaps the time would be better spent do research and getting published in academic journals? That would add to your credibility to be published.
     
  5. Han

    Han New Member

    IMO then don't start. I began the program gung-ho..... no doubts, no problems...... during the program I got fatigued, had doubt, and made it through by just perservering....... if I would have had doubts in the beginning, I would not have made it through.

    On a funny note, I remember visiting Phnish for a couple of months, every week or so, just to get a boost, one of their characters was too a TEE me.
     
  6. Doctor Doctor

    Doctor Doctor New Member

    How many of you would still be pursuing a Ph.D. if the degree did NOT come with the "Doctor" title?
     
  7. friartuck

    friartuck New Member

    Bravo. Life is much too short to waste.
     
  8. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Can you have this right if you get a state approved doctorate? Also the DETC doctorates can give you that right.
    I know religious schools are exempted from the accreditation requirements, you can always get a PhD in metaphysics and get the doctor title.

    There are few options out there that can give you the right to call yourself doctor but nowadays you have plenty of those that people don't really have much respect for doctors besides MDs.

    Most hypnotherapists and alternative medicine specialists use the title doctor so I'm not sure if it is something that is respected anymore.
     
  9. brow276

    brow276 Member

    I thought the only way you could be called doctor, was to complete your course work at an RA school. Is this not the case?
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    It depends where you live, but a state approved degree gives the right to call your self a doctor at least in the state where the school got the license. A DETC degree would give you the right as well.
     
  11. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I thought the DETC PhD/DBA's were not really easier then the RA ones. I amn sure the metaphysical PhD are easier and here is one you can look at - the College of Metaphysical Studies which offers plenty of degree programs.
     
  12. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I went through a similar process years ago.

    My parents taught me that education improves a person and pushed me to prepare for college from an early age. So I always kind of assumed that if doctors have the most education, then they must be the best possible people. Intellectually, I came to realize that wasn't exactly true, but viscerally and emotionally I still sort of felt it. So part of me always dreamed of the blessed day in which I would be proclaimed a doctor. It was a bit like becoming a saint.

    Letting go of that was hard.

    The thing is, I don't need a doctorate for any forseeable vocational purpose. I do love learning and studying though, things that I'll continue doing as long as I live. A doctoral program offers me an opportunity to do those things at the highest level. But it isn't really necessary to be in a doctoral program in order to participate in many forms of advanced study. And if truth be told, I enjoy the freedom to assign my own readings, pursuing my own interests and brain-storms instead of those of my professors.

    So my interests these days have moved away from DL degree-programs (I have all the degrees that I'm likely to ever need) towards individual classes and certificate programs, and towards projects of all sorts, both tangible and virtual.
     
  13. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Here is such a one for $29 from ULC:
    http://www.ulc.net/index.php?page=shop&cat=17
    I attended a wedding where the person performing the marriage ceremony had credentials including doctorate from the ULC (I checked and it is legal in CA).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2009
  14. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    If you call yourself "doctor" with a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree from an unaccredited school, you might feed your ego and get some people to call you "doctor" but you aren't really legitimately using the title. I would go so far as to say that even the state-approved doctoral degrees, while the state may allow someone to use the title, people who have done the work for a real doctorate will be pretty appalled.

    When I worked in the holistic medical field, there were a lot of people claiming an ND (Doctor of Naturopathy) degree and calling themselves "Doctor." I made a point of always asking the "doctor" where she or he went to school, and an overwhelming majority of them got their degrees from various unwonderful or downright degree mill programs (Clayton College of Natural Health is a standout here.) Most of these people were nowhere near qualified to be treating anyone for anything, but nonetheless they proudly held themselves out as a Naturopathic Doctor and many even claimed to be "board certified" (which basically required paying a fee to the fake certification board.)

    While there are plenty of fake degrees, I think the majority of those who hold the fakes know deep down that they are non-legitimate. I just wish there were more regulation, nationally, on the improper use of the term.
     
  15. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I know of one person with some bogus D.Div. and when I asked her about the process to earn the degree, she quickly changed the subject ;)
     
  16. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Great find! It is not a secret that many self employed professionals go for these quickie doctorate credentials in order to boost their image. Last week I got a flyer from a real estate agent claiming a PhD. it is also common to see accountants and financial planners claiming PhDs. In a world of credential inflation, I don't think that PhD titles really can make a difference.
    PhD degrees in business are mainly useful to teach business, if you are not interested in an academic career and just need an ego doctorate, I would think that a state approved unaccredited doctorate might just be ok for your needs.
     
  17. kev314

    kev314 New Member

    Thank you for the link to Phinished.org


    Perhaps my solution may help:I'm hoping to reduce the effort and demands by integrating many things into my PhD:
    Do the dissertation for the PhD
    Have someone pay me to do it
    Have something that is useful and potentialy world changing(I am developing a first through fifth grade math system to increase aims scores)


    Perhaps the most important thing is; I will probably enjoy the process.


    Its effort if you hate it, its fun if you love it. Have the people similar to yourself said it was a ton of effort?

    I only see time as a committment if one doesn't get the synergy of multiple benefits (paid to do what you want).
    I've done this with a variety of things over several years and its worked so far.


    After reading your second post
    How about this:
    Get your doctorate from doing the written works you are already planning on doing.

    Get a company/entity to pay you to do those books as you create them.

    i.e. I've done case studies and had people pay me to do them for things I was going to do myself.
     
  18. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    DETC DBAs are too new to tell. However, depends on how you define "easier" or what are the variables of comparison. Most people agree that time to complete is a metric used across programs. If we use time, a typical B&M Doctorate at an American school takes 4.5 years on average to complete. People tend to say that British and Australian programs are easier because they take an average of 3.5 years of full time work to complete. I don't know the average of schools like Capella or NCU but some people have reported from 2 years to 4 years part time for a doctorate so we can say that on average, online PhDs tend to be "easier" than the B&M 5 year full time programs.

    State approved programs are the easiest on the scale as we had people reporting from one week to few years to complete a doctorate. We don't have the stats from DETC programs yet but my easiness list would be below (from harder to easier):

    1. PhDs or DBAs from American Traditional Schools
    2. PhDs or DBAs from British, Australian or SA schools
    3. PhDs from online accredited American Schools
    4. PhDs from American state approved schools


    This if only time is the only metric to measure this. You also have graduation rates, admission rates, etc.
     
  19. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I will end up with taking about 6 years part time. I went really slow and could have done it in...maybe 3-4 if I would have knocked out the "core" classes a lot faster.

    Where is that one week doctorate? Does that just cover the time for the paperwork to process and mailing time?
     
  20. friartuck

    friartuck New Member

    Well if you want to be called Doctor, just do like this fellow did. Be clever, write prolifically and have all your friends call you doctor. He only had an MA (before actually getting an honorary one).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson
     

Share This Page