How to Know the Real Value of PHD Degree
Completing a doctorate level is a significant achievement. This accomplishment reflects the culmination of hard work, extensive critical thinking and study concerning the selected area of interest, and the result is a donation made in the form of new ideas, ideas, plans, methodologies, or actionable recommendations.
Consider in comparison, the number of individuals who finish their coursework but not the dissertation section of the Accreditation program. Current research shows there's an unprecedented number of individuals that are at the"all but dissertation" or ABD stage, and it's unknown what weight or affect a doctorate degree with all the initials ABD in the title may have, if any at all.
As those of you know, it's also the costliest of academic degrees as well. In fact, the entire number of individuals within the United States who possess a doctorate level is less than 10 percent. Within academia, doctoral candidates are usually told they'll become scholar practitioners, and they are encouraged to continue their research and practice what they've researched.
For those who complete a doctorate degree, there's an expectation that their careers will vary in some manner, especially given their new standing as a scholar practitioner. I recall finishing my Ph.D. about seven years ago. Regrettably I have heard, like many others, making a doctorate degree doesn't always change a individual's livelihood and that contributes to my major question: what's the real value of a doctorate degree?
I have worked in the field of higher education today for over 12 years. Prior to working in academia, I worked in corporate America for about 20 decades. But, I have not stayed exclusively in academia since I also have accepted consulting and contract positions that have enabled me to work with organizational development and instructional design projects. As to my work in academia, most of my places have been online teaching and online leadership functions, working with for-profit institutions.
I am certain most of you will know more about the condition of the for-profit industry and how most of these institutions have had significant enrollment drops. Some institutions have been forced to close. You will find new non-profit associations taking over the marketplace ; however, the leader in this marketplace is famous for low pay and a reputation for supplying correspondence-style courses, which will lead to certification issues at some point.
What all of this suggests is that adjunct online teaching jobs are becoming fewer year by year, and full-time places are almost non-existent. When I began in 2005 there were more tasks than instructors and also the"gold rush" started. Now that's been reversed and those of us with doctorate degrees are competing with thousands of adjuncts who have master's degrees for just a few jobs. If you think a doctorate diploma gives you a competitive edge, you'd be just as disappointed as I am on a daily basis.
Finding Employment in Higher Education
The internet application format has removed the human component from the program procedure and being a scholar practitioner no longer matters when filling out online forms. The fact I have a degree that less than 10% of the United States population has makes no difference to a automated online application program, and I am speaking about places in the field of academia.
Sure, we could blame the automated online application system; however, that is just part of the problem as it is the associations who are implementing those systems.
More to the point, do you believe that somebody with my education and expertise is handled any differently regarding how my application is handled? Now let me clarify, I don't expect white glove treatment. However, I made a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) and that's a level that's supposed to be the most honored and highly positioned degree in academia. Yet I receive the dreaded automatic human resources emails that don't even have the courtesy to address me by my title.
What is worse? The changing nature of tasks within academia. Here's a good illustration. There is a newer non-profit institution, which is operating as a for-profit. This institution advertises countless tasks and if you look on salary review sites you will be amazed with how low the pay is for these places. However, what is even more shocking are the qualifications for senior leadership positions. 1 senior leadership position was advertised with the following requirements: master's degree, three years experience, and some higher education experience preferred although not required.
I should clarify the places I am referring to above are remote or online based rankings. I also have looked into employment using conventional colleges and universities; however, my doctorate diploma has been obtained from an online university and conventional schools tend to reject anyone with degrees from online schools. Additionally, I would not qualify for a teaching position which requires earning tenure and other places within conventional schools will also be few and seldom advertised.
Finding Employment at Corporate America
The next option for me to explore is Corporate America as I have more than twenty decades of expertise in this field and I've continued to perform contract places involving organizational development, together with training and development.
The solution is: not very well. I'm either seen as somebody who might be too academic, too over-qualified, or an assortment of other factors I have yet to determine. I've yet to locate a coaching and development department that's open to this idea of having someone with a doctorate degree help lead their employees.
In addition, I have exactly the very same hurdles to face with Corporate America because I do with academia and it's the online application forms. If you cannot obtain a name of someone to contact, such as a hiring manager or maybe a recruiter, you're left to the mercy of an algorithm to determine your future fate with that corporation.
So where does that leave me now using a doctorate level, seven decades after getting a Ph.D.? I'm definitely not where I thought I'd be. I'm writing articles and blog posts, conducting research, and choosing up contract positions as I can find them. Job hunting is now a full-time occupation, and that I believed that making a financial investment in a degree to operate in a field I love would have attracted me further along than that and I know there are not guarantees in life.
However, I'm still left wondering about the worth of a doctorate diploma if institutions of higher education cannot encourage it via employment opportunities and do not value men holding those degrees if they apply to positions. I know that there are economic aspects, and there always will be, however what has happened to the discipline of academia? Institutions of higher education are still enroll students into schooling programs and tell them they're scholar professionals. Will the value of the doctorate level become so diluted that it just looks good on paper, or have we reached that point? It appears I cannot answer my own question yet and perhaps 1 day I'll, as I continue on my doctoral journey.
