What's better: PhD from a .com school or a DBA from a B&M?

Thank you Randell, I am not sure what does the forum gains from being short with other members? We are all on here to gain information, to better ourselves.

 

I do not think anyone has anything to "gain" but people take their choices and decisions very personal and may feel attacked in a sense when others make brash comments. Other may just be having a bad day or, of course, some may just be a jack ass at heart. If I knew why people did what they do I would be the man on the mountain!

I do agree that we all have something to gain and taking cheap shots at others does not really add anything.

 

Randell,

Bottom-line we’re all fallible; it’s prudent to just refrain from such pettiness. And as you point out; such tactics are unproductive.

 

I just realized that Randell is a moderator, how did you get that job? Does it require a PhD? Does it pay well? Bennies?

By the way, there is no need to get oversensitive, picking on the grammar is an old joke around here.

 

I was offered this wonderful position some time ago. At the time it did require a PhD but it had to be an online / for-profit PhD (we can discriminate also). The pay is great, I get paid per person and per post. I get nothing per post, a headache per spam, and a good old fashion "what the heck were they thinking" per argument. Benefits, I get to see all the spam posts before you! Now I can get an iPod before you from these sites :boggled:

 

I was lucky enough to be offered a position before the Ph.D. requirement, so I was grandfathered in. The pay is rather skimpy (nothing), and the bennies include headaches, wasted time deleting/banning spammers, and frustration from dealing with complaints from people who don't get the concept that they are owed nothing from a private website that is totally free to join/participate.

 

Is'int having 2 Masters = a PhD ??

 

Is that all he is paying you? I'm making over $100K a year here at DI. Oh, and then there is the use of the Degree Info private jet to fly me to all sorts of exotic vacations, all comped as well. We won't even mention the wild parties with celebrities.

 

I'm finding out the hard way that it does not!

 

Then I quit! I knew there was a scam someplace

 

Oh dang, I let the cat out of the bag! Now he probably won't fly us down to Bora Bora this weekend.

 

Y'all notice how a few years back part of the posting base moved to degreediscussion? Especially church people?

You don't want to know the dispensations they give out there…

(Janko would have had something to say here; bless his heart.)

 

Even if it's 10 master degrees, it won't equal a PhD. Can more than one bachelor degree equal a master degree? Can an associates degree equal a bachelor's degree?

 

Hhmm! I'm wondering who will be considered a top priority, Online PhD or Traditional PhD? If it's traditional then what's the reason for having such online degree? :surprised:

 

There is nothing wrong with a distance PhD provided is from a school with a B&M presence and reputation.
Every year, many academics get their PhDs from places like Grenoble, University of Manchester, Nova, Henley College, etc.
The main issue is credibility, online for profit schools have low credibility and for this reason we believe are not the best bet for people looking for long term academic careers.

 

From one who has on online degree from a "for profit"...

Given the choice, if you want to teach, most would opt for a Traditional Ph.D. However, there are very few AACSB accredited online or limited residency business programs. So if you want a PhD, and not put your life on hold for several years, like it or not, that leaves the "for profits."

Fortunately for me, I was able to teach at a community college for several years while earning the PhD. In addition, I have presented at several conferences, working on a journal submission right now, etc., all the "correct" things a PhD candidate is supposed to do.

I'm a member of the official Capella University LinkedIn Group, and it boggles my mind with how many people believe the PhD is going to "open the door" without the other things that RF Valve mentions (publication, conferences, teaching experience, etc.).

Hope that helps...

 

All true, but perhaps misleading in one important respect.

Christie's is certainly a for-profit entity. But where does that profit come from? From its MA program -- which has a total enrollment of about 35 ? No. Christie's makes its money from auctioning art; compared to its auction operations, the profit or loss from the MA program is insignificant. So this is not really for-profit education -- it is non-profit education that just happens to be sponsored by a for-profit entity.

Why does a for-profit entity like Christie's even offer the MA program, if they don't make a significant profit on it ? Good question. The assumption is that it has to do with the program's mandatory internship component:

Christie's is constantly advertising for unpaid interns to help with "general day to day tasks associated with the auction process". Why do they need so many interns? The rumor is that there are so many people who want to intern at Christie's -- even without pay -- that it significantly reduces their costs for administrative and support staff. And what's even better than an unpaid intern? How about a student intern that pays you?

The example I would suggest is Microsoft technical certifications, which are widely discussed in the IT forums here at degreeinfo. They are not degrees, but they are valuable, respected, and inexpensive -- overall a good deal for students.

But again, I would argue that Microsoft's cert programs are really non-profit education that happens to be sponsored by a for-profit entity. Microsoft is obviously a for-profit entity, but it is equally obvious that they make their money from software -- not education. They don't care if they make any money on their educational programs. They subsidize education to promote their overall software sales (just as they offer software to students at subsidized academic pricing).

So Microsoft and Christie's are both for-profit entities -- but they don't make their profit from education. They offer quality education at a subsidized price because it furthers their profit goals in other respects. I wouldn't call this "for-profit" education" in the sense of, say, UoP.

 

Exactly. Without those other factors, online PhDs typically won't even open bathroom stalls, much less professional doors.

Of course, this can also be said of B&M PhDs, but B&M PhD programs tend to fare better, as full-time PhD students tend to do all of those things along the way.