Isn't a DL doctorate a waste of time?

I'm not one of those people. I'm just feeling discouraged as I start my doctorate at NCU. I'm worried that it's a waste.

 

Remember that vanity degrees are a two-edged sword. If somebody wants to pose as the authority, as the teacher that other people shut up and listen to, then don't expect laymen to always love you for it. They might well resent you. People don't like being made to feel inferior. They don't like feeling that they are being placed at the receiving-end of a dominance-submission distinction.

They are apt to like it even less if they aren't convinced that the great doctor is really as expert and knowledgeable as he pretends to be.

What's more, somebody's being a doctor isn't going to impress other doctors a whole lot either. Distinctions stop being distinctive when everyone possesses them. What will speak loudest to that more demanding audience are the positions and accomplishments on your cv.

 

I tend to agree with you re business doctorates however for engineering and natural science degrees there is quite a demand. I know of some organizations that require a doctorate and some that require post-doc experience as well. My daughter-in-law was solicited for jobs from several pharmaceutical companies but she chose a post-doc instead because she is headed to a teaching position.

Check out Eos Journal for job listings in nat sci areas.

I often wonder why people pay tuition for a doctorate when schools will pay them if they chose a field other than business.

 

Dave,
Have you used your PhD from TUI in any area other then education?

 

Support for PhD students has more to do with the type of school attended than it does the discipline. There is plenty of financial support available for B school students, external as well as internal from most B & M schools. The deciding factor for financial aid is admittance to the program. The trick is gaining admittance which can be highly competitive with many exceptional applicants turned away.

 

Only you can decide that. Things change over a 3-6 year process. I started because I figured I was throwing away tuition assistance money if I did not use it, then it turned into the online teaching interest, now I have no idea what I want to do with it. Online teaching - yes, but maybe something else too. Perhaps consulting or only teaching or follow the Six Sigma/PMP path and never use the PhD. At least I now have the option (or soon will when I am done).

You can always start on the PhD path and fall back toan MBA if you change your mind.

 

Hey that's an interesting idea, Randell. Nice to know there is an option if you don't have the stamina to finish the PhD.

 

Agreed. There just aren't too many contexts outside of higher education where saying you have a doctorate is helpful to your audience. Moreover, very few jobs outside of higher education have the specific requirement of a doctorate. Narcissists holding doctorates want to believe otherwise but it just isn't true.

 

OK, but what if the education provider won't confer your degree after you satisfy all their changing requirements over many years, and you pay and pay and pay their demands... running up the felony count. Will you stay to the end until they finally confer your degree? Or will you see that they are prosecuted and go to prison? Oh, you could just walk away and conclude that you were stupid enough to get drawn into the scam in the first place... Do you think you will like them well enough to visit them while they are in prison?

[Disclaimer: I'm not referring to any particular education provider, just speaking hypothetically. Any resemblance to any education provider operating or defunct is purely coincidental.]

 

Are you equating distance education to a felony? Surely this is not what distance education is about. In my opinion it does not justified your action in discouraging members in pursuing distance doctorates. Unethical institutions whether B&M or Virtual will not survive employing the practices that you have described. I will go out and a limb to say that members who are thinking of pursuing a doctorate does need anyone this board to telling them not to do it.

 

What do you plan to do with your doctorate, presuming you earn it and it is then conferred?

 

The doctorate is a must if you are an education professional for higher education. Some can argue that the master is enough but the reality is that even adjunct positions are asking for a doctorate nowadays.

I have used my doctorate for adjunct and consulting gigs. Many customers ask for your resume before hiring you for consulting. I'm not saying a doctorate will give you consulting gigs but it can add credibility to ones resume. At the end, the doctorate is a credential and it can be nice to have on top of a CPA, CFA, CMA, etc.

Doctorates from low tier schools like NCU have their niche market, basically they provide continuing education opportunities for established professionals. I think Randell has it right, it you have money available for continuing education and you can use it to get a doctorate, Why not?

 

I will do exactly what you are doing. I will earn a living from it. Then encourage others not to attempt it because they may not earn it. Then I will be more condensing and ask them what they are going to be doing with a doctorate. I may even suggest that they do a master instead.

 

That is not fair - you missed calling someone (anyone) narcissistic and never admitting you have a PhD even when asked directly, and the ever-famous "how old are you....too old!" comment.

 

I do plan to get a PMP then maybe a Six Sigma Black Belt. I think the PMP is less confusing since there is only one source for it as opposed to the SSBB andit will balance the academic side.

While a docorate from NCU is considered a lower tier, it is still a doctorate and will beat wishing I had one from a top tier school. When I am done with the PhD I plan to finish up an MBA in Marketing from TUI. Why stop spending someone elses money?

 

I have a PMP (since 2006). For me, I can't say it has had any impact, but I'm in training and development, and not a whole lot of us have one.

 

I suppose that is an acceptable answer to a question you weren't prepared to answer... Would it help if I withdraw the original question about what you plan to do with the doctorate, presuming it is conferred some day? Still, you may want to think the question over, before you invest all that time, without having a plan you can explain.

 

Speaking of questions people are not prepared to answer...how come you never respond to the question - "Do you have a doctorate?" Several have asked and I do not recall your response.

 

I am hoping in a management position it will add something. I do have a CompTIA Project+ so a PMP should not be much as a stretch.