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

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

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  1. OnMyWay

    OnMyWay Grand Duchess

    My husband is a medical doctor so I joked about getting a doctorate just so I could force him to call me doctor. No need, we all know who the real boss is anyway. :p Seriously, I am so done after this master's degree... well for a very very long time anyway. I still would love to be a high ranking administrator, even at a CC sometime down the road. But right now, I'm mommy first and foremost.
     
  2. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Kennedy Western, Trinity College, Washington International are few examples of state approved that granted degrees based on "previous" work.

    As for your doctorate, how many hours are you putting on it on a weekly basis? You seem to be having too many things on your plate. You work on another graduate program and teach for several schools part time and on top hold a day full time job. Wouldn't that explain the slow progress? I suppose that people that finish fast is because they only hold a full time job and work on their doctorate.
     
  3. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I didn't think of those schools. A school where the turn around time is how quick the check clears.


    Some weeks were very little hours put in...like zero. Other weeks I have put in 20-30 hours. I try to stick-and-move while doing everything else. Now that I am in the dissertation, I put in a steady 15-20 hours a week or so. You are right about the other graduate program I was enrolled in - the UF program which was 9 credits and the one finance class I took (4 credits) at TUI. Thanks for the kind words, I guess it is not a sprint to the end.
     
  4. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    The degree continues to offer a good ROI for me. I rarely use the title "Doctor". The title, and the ability to use it, is overrated. A person needs to be willing to go through the challenges of the journey with more than an interest in the title as motivation, or you may be disappointed.
     
  5. Doctor Doctor

    Doctor Doctor New Member

    Thanks for the thoughtful post, kev.

    I inferred the amount of commitment from the posts. After looking at what's required on a day-to-day basis and really picturing myself doing all those tasks and having non-stop assignments hanging over my ahead for years, I realized that I would not be happy.
     
  6. Doctor Doctor

    Doctor Doctor New Member

    You see, with me, I like learning, and I do a lot of self-learning, but I don't like school. I worked full-time while getting my accelerated bachelor's degree and will be finishing my two master's degrees in the coming months (yes, I am doing them both at once). I really want to be done with school.

    Recently, I thought that maybe I disliked school so much because I had too many things on my plate. I thought that maybe I would enjoy a Ph.D. program if I just took one course at a time.

    Then, I looked at the course syllabi for doctoral programs. As expected, each week, you read several chapters from a textbook and write a lengthy research paper replete with citations.

    I thought, maybe I can do this if I'm careful with my time. I even thought that the dissertation process would go easier because I'd be working on a topic that I picked. That's why I asked if it was feasible to complete a Ph.D. by spending only 8-12 hours per week.

    In the end, though, I think I've just had too much on my plate over the last half-decade or so. I haven't been able to pursue a couple of hobbies that I've been wanting to do the whole time. I also spend so much time doing unnecessary tasks and blog reading as a way to procrastinate from actually doing my academic work.

    I think I just need to "move on" with my life (if that's the right phrase) and start living life after I finish my master's degrees up. I think I will be so much happier. I can watch TV, do my hobbies, go out to dinner, go on trips, etc. without worrying about schoolwork.

    I'll finally be able to "feel free."
     
  7. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    Also, as (Dr.) Steve Levicoff has repeatedly pointed out, those that have it don't need to flaunt it. In thinking of the people I know with legitimate, properly accredited Ph.D degrees, very few, if any of them want to be referred to as Dr. so-and-so, even by their students.

    A few will actually correct you if you refer to them as Dr. so-and-so and tell you to call them by their first name.
     
  8. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Few of the PhDs that I've associated with over the many years used the title except in introductions on formal occasions. Most of them were a little embarrassed to be addressed as "Doctor" and tried to move things to a first-name basis as soon as possible.

    That doesn't mean that these people thought that doctorates were unimportant or that they weren't proud of their accomplishments. It's more that earning a doctorate was evidence that they were at the top of their academic game, that they were an authority on something, however specialized and obscure it might have been.

    I don't think that the title itself ever meant a whole lot to me. My emphasis was always what the education represented in my imagination. Maybe that's why my earlier doctor-lust finally subsided as I realized that titles aren't the same thing as knowledge and understanding.
     
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    friartuck: "Well if you want to be called Doctor, just do like this fellow did."

    alanadale*: Alternatively, you can legally change your first name to "Doctor," as the diploma mill tycoon Ronald Pellar (Columbia State University) did, changing his name to "Doctor Dante."

    _________
    *That was the role I played in my last stage appearance,
    the 4th grade production of Robin Hood.
     
  10. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I have said it several times, when I am done I expect everyone to call me doctor...even my own mother! Then on the second day, I guess I will respond to anything like I do now.:cool:
     
  11. ITJD

    ITJD Guest

    To the OP:

    1. I applaud your decision as you've taken the time to think on the matter and made a decision that was right for you.

    2. Be wary of resting on your Masters degrees as a ticket to certain adjunct positions. More than a few agencies/states (in my limited exposure to such things) are requiring 15 credits of coursework in specific disciplines within fields to be able to teach the subject matter.

    (Ex. Want to teach accounting? Have a MBA? Did you get 15 credit hours worth of accounting via that MBA program? No? You're not teaching accounting.)

    Your mileage will vary and there's a lot of decent teaching appointments out there. As you've stated you're uncertain of even going down that road, I hope this post helped in some way.

    On the "Doctor" thing from my perspective: Having a PhD opens the doors wide to allowing a person to do anything they want to do within a field of interest. The title doesn't mean much at all, the opportunities mean everything.

    Thanks.
    A
     
  12. Cymba

    Cymba New Member

    Yes, good for you for making a sound decision. If its not for you, than don't do just to do it. If you truly believe your Masters give you all the opportunities you need for teaching, than you have your answer.

    The Doctorate is the absolute apex of the education world, anyone that makes it there should be given all the respect in the world- they're truly earned it. Still, it is A LOT of time, effort, and not too mention money. If you are not in a medical field, and don't need it to teach at the college level, whats the point of it? Its gonna be 3-6 MORE years of school, and tens of thousands of dollars. If someone needs it professionally for career opportunities, awesome, but if not, I would argue the utility of the Doctorate. I am all for personal growth, so if someone does want to pursue it, just for the sake of getting a Doctorate and reaching that apex that very few get to, then more power to you!
     
  13. LGFlood

    LGFlood New Member

    What's even funnier is I've never even heard of a legitimate D.Div. program anywhere. M.Div graduates generally go on for a D.Min. after a minimum 3 years post M.Div. ministry experience. The D.Min. can be completed full time in 3-4 years. But a "D.Div?" Never heard of one.
     
  14. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    That's because the abbreviation for Doctor of Divinity is DD, not DDiv. The DD is largely an honorary doctorate in the US but is a higher doctorate in the UK.
     

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