If not a PhD, then what?
September 18, 2010 3:19 PM   Subscribe

If not a PhD, then what? Am I an idiot for wanting to pursue a PhD? If I don't do that, then what would a good alternative be?

By the end of next year, I will have two master's degrees completed (one with a written thesis, the other with a substantial piece of creative work - from two different highly regarded schools).

I have worked in "the real [non-academic] world" for the past couple years while finishing these degrees up and my experiences have led me to believe that I want to pursue a PhD. I've been really unhappy with my current job which, although in a related field to my interests, offers no possibility for application of my skills (literally, I'm like a glorified typist) and I'm trying to figure out a productive way out.

I have research ideas (related to architecture / history / preservation / planning / new media / arts) that I think are best suited for exploration in an academic environment and I also have an interest in teaching. Having been in two different master's programs, the politics and difficulties and whatnot involved with the PhD/dissertation process are not unfamiliar to me, so my question isn't really about Getting A PhD itself...

The issue is that being married with a toddler, and having recently purchased a house limit my flexibility in choosing schools or being able to go wherever to develop a teaching career and all of that uncertainty inherent in an academic career. Not to mention that there is no way I could do anything without being substantially funded.

So my question is, if getting a PhD seems out of reach, at least for now, what should I set for goals for myself? I feel like I've been in and out of academia for so long that it's hard to think about undertaking anything without that kind of backing and support and it's hard to see where the outlets for my work would be.

I hope this all makes some sort of sense and I appreciate any advice that can be offered. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do with myself and all the work I've done thus far!


(Anyone who knows me would know I wrote this, so I don't know why I made this anonymous, but I guess you should always be careful when discussing career details...)
posted by anonymous to Education (13 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I would advise you to think carefully about what you want the phd for. If you go into a phd program that is geared toward producing professors for the national market, then you will find yourself stuck with the same problems a few years down the road, compounded by the fact that you have severely limited your income stream. However, if you go into a program geared toward giving you more marketable skills, you might find yourself ready to do work in this same community.
You should look around yourself at the jobs that you would like to have, and think critically about how a Ph.D. would help you to get that job. Or would finishing the program and writing a dissertation be a distraction from getting that job?
posted by pickypicky at 4:00 PM on September 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Pickypicky said it perfectly.

ABD, with a toddler.
posted by k8t at 4:05 PM on September 18, 2010


A few downsides to being a PhD student with a toddler (and in general):

- while being funded is cool, with a toddler (unless your spouse is raking it in or you live in a very affordable place), you'll probably have to take out loans. Loans aren't horrible, but if you're a bit older, consider that you'll be eating away at your retirement to pay them off.

- if you're a bit older (again, making an assumption), your number of years of earning once you're done is a bit low. Let's say that your program won't accept your MAs, so you'll be there 5-7 years. Then maybe a postdoc or 2 or a few years without employment. Then 7 years as an assistant. Then 7 years as an associate. Then you have tenure. How many years of actual decent salary will you have that will allow you to actually put money toward your retirement and not just paying off loans.

- being geographically limited isn't a good thing in the future when you're looking for jobs and it certainly isn't right now. I'd suggest that you really look closely at who is available at Your Local University. Read a ton of their works. Remember that at the PhD level, you really need an advisor that is going to be an asset to your interest. S/he needs to be an expert in the theoretical perspective that you're taking. You could make this work, but be cautious as to not expect that Bob Smith, Expert in Theory X is going to be keen on your idea.

A few pros:

If there is on-campus student daycare, that could be awesome. Sometimes it is way cheaper and better than regular ol' daycare options.

You'll have some flexibility in your life (like sick kid or whatever) that you wouldn't have in a 9-5.

As long as your partner is EXTREMELY HELPFUL and willing to do the brunt of the childrearing/household stuff during pivotal times (1st year, qualifying exams, dissertation writing), you could make this work.

And one small correction - don't think of this as a "teaching career" - many academics think of themselves as researchers first, and teachers second.

If you'd like to chat via email or phone or IM or whatever, memail me.
posted by k8t at 4:24 PM on September 18, 2010


Honestly, given what you describe, I gotta say no regarding the PhD. Not that you couldn't do it, but with your geographic limitations, there's a good chance you simply won't find the kind of position at the end of the process to justify the sacrifice and expense.

Alternatives? Maybe consider:

1) Teaching an evening or weekend course as an adjunct, perhaps at a local community college. Good way to stay in contact with teaching/students as well as a diversion from the "typist" sort of day job you mentioned.

2) Write a book. Seriously, it sounds like you've the sort of background in areas that would lend themselves to highly-researched but not necessarily academic sorts of writing. Too many PhDs these days write like, well, PhDs, which often makes it impossible for their good ideas to reach any audience besides fellow academics. If you don't choose to go on, why not use this decision to your advantage and learn to write the sorts of intelligent non-fiction, whether article or book-length, that could reach a broader, college-educated audience? For starters check out the current titles in a decent bookstore around your subject interests, and look for a writing style you might emulate around a topic you already know well. Write up a magazine piece or two in your spare time then see if this sort of writing appeals to you and go from there.
posted by 5Q7 at 4:54 PM on September 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


Depending on what colleges you have in your area, and also on the specific details of your master's degrees, you might be able to satisfy that desire to teach without a PhD. Community colleges and sometimes four-year institutions will higher at the MS level, if it's in an area where they aren't swamped with applications from PhDs (or if you just have a unique combination of skills that work for them). So, for psychology, this isn't often the case, but for math it can be. I've also seen, though, someone in the right place at the right time get hired as a visiting and then move on to a regular position with less than a PhD. Granted, this doesn't help with your desire to do research, but it doesn't exclude it either. When institutions do hire someone without a terminal degree, the college often becomes the biggest cheerleader for that person to get it (if possible locally).
posted by bizzyb at 4:59 PM on September 18, 2010


k8t and pickypicky have already given you some great advice. I don't have kids, but my observation from people I knew in grad school was that it adds another challenge to an already challenging environment. But I'm not sure how to answer your "then what" question, because you haven't really given much detail to go on. What are your skills? In what way do you want to apply them that you're not doing now? Can you email a mod with more info? If not, please also feel free to memail me.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 5:01 PM on September 18, 2010


Several of the posters above have answered as if the typical academic career is a given after getting the Ph.D. Depending on your field, that could well be quite doubtful. In most disciplines in the humanities, for instance, universities are producing many more PhDs than available full-time academic jobs. Combine that with the fact that universities are employing fewer and fewer tenured faculty, and it's a pretty bleak job market.

And if you continue to be geographically constrained after getting the PhD, then even the typical path will most likely not be open to you, since it typically requires moving at least a couple of times before you get into a tenure-track position.

(Disclaimer: I finished my PhD in the 90s in German literature. Fortunately, I saw the bleak job prospects and decided to see what else I could do. Forward 17 years: I'm a software engineer who enjoys the constant technical challenges of my career and providing for my family. My wife has two MAs, and has been teaching for 12 years part-time at the same university with virtually no prospect of ever getting a full-time teaching position there, but it's been a decent part-time job while raising kids)
posted by tippiedog at 5:23 PM on September 18, 2010


Can you find a better job, one that uses your skills and uses the ideas you're interested in in the real world?
What would your non-academic job prospects be with the PhD? If you really want to do research and teaching, and can get good funding, I'd say go for it.
posted by sninctown at 5:49 PM on September 18, 2010


I just got off the phone with my mom, who just finished a PhD and is now teaching at a small university. She's a small, unrepresentative sample, but she is miserable and I would never advise anyone to get a PhD who wasn't ready to dedicate their entire life and all their time and resources towards it.
posted by whalebreath at 6:09 PM on September 18, 2010


It's a pity that PhDs in America are 5 years. In Australia and the UK they are only 3 years, which is still a sacrifice but nowhere near as huge. But I'm assuming you're in America and can't really change countries.
posted by moorooka at 6:15 PM on September 18, 2010


I gotta say no on the PhD.

My sister, ABD and just. fucking. miserable. trying to write her diss and cobble together a living with adjunct gigs all over the greater NYC area (like, seriously: she lives in Brooklyn and commutes to Staten Island to teach). I recently wrote her a letter trying to address some of her angst about the situation she finds herself in. I wish I'd kept a copy.

Universities are complicit in the witting overproduction of PhDs, because that's how the incentives are aligned. They DO NOT CARE that the job market (particularly in the humanities and social sciences) is for shit. That is absolutely no reason to stop admitting people. They are engaged in getting people to tolerate unconscionably exploitative labor practices, for what are mostly absurdly low wages, and simultaneously engaged in telling their proles that they should feel honored and humbled to be a part of such a time-honored and noble undertaking. And they encourage a degree of codependent buy-in that soundly stigmatizes apostasy and even public expressions of dissatisfaction.

I cannot in good conscience suggest anyone go into a PhD program.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 7:57 PM on September 18, 2010 [5 favorites]


Ugh...hire, not higher. All that education and I can't even pick the right word once the work week ends. :p While I'm here, though, I do want to add that I absolutely loved my PhD experience and the teaching job that I have. I'm also in an area of the social sciences that is highly in demand; every single graduate from my program found a decent (non-adjunct) position this year and last, which speaks volumes. However, they did have to go all over for it, which you aren't able to do. You do need to check into the employability of graduates from your specific school and your specific area, and take that into consideration.
posted by bizzyb at 5:54 AM on September 19, 2010


I'm arriving a bit late to the discussion, but in case you're still reading . . .

I've been really unhappy with my current job . . . and I'm trying to figure out a productive way out.

So my question is . . . what should I set for goals for myself? I feel like I've been in and out of academia for so long that it's hard to think about undertaking anything without that kind of backing and support and it's hard to see where the outlets for my work would be.

Have you tried career counseling? Not liking your current job is a common but kind of bad reason for jumping to a Ph.D. program. I'd suggest that before undertaking a doctorate, you should explore other jobs that might plug into your interests in some way. Try to keep an open mind, and think about not just what topics interest you but how you work best (with others, or alone? with well-defined goals, or in a more open environment? with a structured schedule and setting, or without? etc.). Do at least a half dozen informational interviews with people who seem to have interesting jobs in related fields. Brainstorm a bunch of jobs where you'd feel like your skills and background would be well-utilized, and then look at what kind of training and experience are required to break into those career tracks.

On another note, what exactly do you mean by "that kind of backing and support"? Academia can be supportive in some ways, but can leave you hanging out to dry in other ways. An academic program may "support" you intellectually and even materially as you explore certain kinds of research questions that you would have a hard time addressing in any other setting, but once you finish the degree, you may find yourself back at square one—a little older and a little wiser, but still unable to land a job that will sustain your research interests. Worse, you may be carrying debt, not to mention you would have skipped contributing to your retirement funds at a relatively young age when the magic of compound interest could do so much for you. Do not go into a Ph.D. program unless a) you have a well-defined career goal after getting the degree, b) you cannot pursue that career goal without the degree, AND c) you are reasonably certain, based on objective research, that you will be able to get a job in that career field, with the Ph.D., that meets all your other requirements (salary & benefits, geographic location, family-friendly schedule, or whatever your priorities are).

To take another tack: with two master's degrees from highly regarded universities, you should be able to find some line of work more stimulating than your current position as a "glorified typist." I would suggest that you make it your goal, in the next year or two, to seriously explore ways of leveraging the skills and credentials you already have.
posted by Orinda at 12:40 AM on September 21, 2010


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