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[lberry2010]

Hello....I am contemplating the idea of pursuing the PhD in Accounting but I am having a difficult time trying to make a decision.

My biggest passion is educating students and providing them with opportunities to better themselves in the workforce. I have always enjoyed teaching students while I was a teaching assistant in Accounting during my undergrad years. I am currently pursuing my Masters degree in Accounting and I am working as a full time internal auditor. I have approximately 2 years of financial reporting experience and 3 years of internal audit experience. I also have my Certified Fraud Examiner professional certification.

I want to teach students, remain current in my field, and participate in research without having to go through the PhD program. Is this possible to achieve or do I need to bite the bullet and go for the PhD?

I will also let you know that I am not crazy about the huge salary cut that I will be taking or the amount of time it will take to complete the program. I am also not strong in math, economics, statistics, etc. I just want to work in academia and remain current in my field and help students. Is a PhD required for this???

[charlesr]

Once you are finished with your Master's contact local colleges, especially community colleges, about part-time teaching opportunities.  The pay is lousy but you will get a feel for whether you might like academia. 

Depending on what type of school want to teach in and how much you expect to earn, a PhD in Accounting is not a requirement.

Talk to some of your professors.  They should know the local market and they know you better than we do.

[potentialphd]

I am currently in a PhD in Accounting program, so maybe I can help....

It sounds like you enjoy learning, which is a necessity for any PhD student.  Certainly a passion for teaching helps as well.  However, before you "bite the bullet" and head for a PhD program you should seriously consider your drive for research.  A majority of your time as an accounting doctoral student is spent studying subjects other than accounting.  For instance, your course load would include lots of statistics, calculus and economics.  If you like these subjects and their applications to accounting research, then I think you would enjoy a doctoral program.

There are certainly other options for teaching accounting at the college level.  Most universities have two or three adjuncts that teach intro to accounting course.  The pay isn't awesome but I'm sure the lifestyle is pretty satisfying.  You could also do consulting work on the side.

In any event, I hope you find these comments useful in your decision.