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[flamglam]

I am a new member here, looking for some professional, objective input on a big decision I am facing.

I am in my early 40s and will have my Master's Degree in hand in January 2011. I have already begun to do primary research and have presented at two academic conferences in my field. I love academic research and writing. I know I want to do this for the rest of my life. The problem is that I am not sure obtaining a PhD., at my age, with the current budget crisis assailing virtually every state institution, is the best way to go about it.

Is it not possible to do my research and present at conferences without a PhD?

Is it not possible to work as an adjunct professor - which carries less of everything, both positive and negative, about being a professor of higher ed - with my Master's degree alone?

A huge problem is going to be funding a PhD. As a matter of fact, were it not for this question, the decision would be much easier for me - I would go for it. But if I have to take out many more thousands in student loans, over and above the loans I already have, then the wisdom of the decision begins to look less clear.

Opinions, feedback, advice, personal stories and all other comments are sorely needed!

[larryc]

What is your field?

[yellowtractor]

My question exactly--in general--humanities, sciences...?

[carebearstare]

Some thoughts:

1. Do not do a Ph.D. unless you are able to obtain full funding. No, no, no. Taking out loans to do grad work is bad enough, but having to borrow the sum of money is simply not worth it, given the uncertainty at the end.

2. Do not do a Ph.D. unless you are sure you want to. No matter what age you are, you are devoting years of your life to something that is time-consuming, emotionally draining, and intellectually exhausting. There is a lot of pay off at the end, but the forces will sometimes be against you so strongly that you need all the resolve you can muster to finish.

3. In some disciplines, you can present as an "independent scholar"--I see this not infrequently at conferences. Some of these people have advanced degrees but are working in other fields, while others are simply knowledgeable. Especially if you keep up with scholarly literature (hard as it is without a university affiliation), this can be rewarding. You will also be able to present as an adjunct--happens all the time in many disciplines.

4. Adjuncting can be rewarding, but it can also be frustrating. Depending on your field, you might want to consider doing this as an ancillary career rather than your  main source of income.

I'm sure other people will chime in here.

[flamglam]

Thanks everybody!

My field is Special Education.

How do I go about obtaining full funding - do I apply for scholarships, assistantships etc and just cobble as much together as I can? Or is there a "secret squirrel" way to go about this?

[msparticularity]

So, you are a classroom SpEd educator who is completing a master's degree in SpEd? Is your master's degree from a brick-and-mortar program, or online?

SpEd is a growth field in academia, and there are indeed funded graduate programs. (I'm a little puzzled that you don't seem familiar with graduate assistantships, which is why I have asked if you're doing your work online.) If you can give a bit more information, I can try to help you--I am in education, although my specialty is not SpEd.

[flamglam]

Correct, I am completing a program to become a certified classroom SpEd teacher. I am attending a lower tier public university, brick and mortar. It is well regarded for its education program but is not selective.  My university is not a research school. I began my primary study completely on my own. I was accepted at two conferences completely on my own, with no support from professors. I received a graduate assistantship last semester which defrayed about 1/3 of my Fall tuition. The assistantship was not renewed for Spring term.

[flamglam]

I have not yet begun applying to doctoral programs, largely because I have not yet taken the GRE. My school does not routinely offer grad assistantships. I was the first grad assistant the SpEd department had ever had, and they basically created the position for me because they were aware of my strong interest in research. I can only surmise that the assistantship was not extended through the spring term because they had no money to fund it. I am not a typical student for this school. The school I attend currently does not have a doctoral program in any discipline.

[msparticularity]

Okay, so you're in the process of becoming certified to teach SpEd, but you have no actual classroom experience, aside from your practicum and internships? If this is the case, then you really, really must gain at last three years of experience in the classroom, because otherwise you will not be accepted into a reputable PhD program, since you would be completely unemployable at completion of the degree. Many states actually require classroom experience for teacher education faculty by law, and the vast majority demand it by custom. This is because academic careers in education consist of doing one's own research, combined with teaching and mentoring teacher education students and active classroom teachers--and you just really need to have done some teaching yourself if you're going to do this.

[luvstowrite]

I have not yet begun applying to doctoral programs, largely because I have not yet taken the GRE. My school does not routinely offer grad assistantships. I was the first grad assistant the SpEd department had ever had, and they basically created the position for me because they were aware of my strong interest in research. I can only surmise that the assistantship was not extended through the spring term because they had no money to fund it. I am not a typical student for this school. The school I attend currently does not have a doctoral program in any discipline.

The GRE was not required to enter your program? Was there another entrance requirement?

[flamglam]

I do not have formal SpEd teaching experience. I do have several years' experience as a teacher's aide working with severe EBD students, prior to entering the Master's program I am currently in. But what I am hearing, or think I'm hearing, is that either concurrent with or before applying to a PhD program, I need to actually teach at the K-12 level, for at least a few years. Is that right?

As I said earlier, my current university is not selective. I am a non-traditional student who did not have a great deal of success at earlier levels of my education, so a non-competitive program fit my needs well at that time. The program I am in does not breed researchers - it is basically an assembly line to get new bodies into the teaching corps of local school districts. Very, very few students catch the research bug the way I have. I am definitely the anomaly at this school.

At the risk of detonating an A-bomb, which I do not intend to do, I have been counseled rather emphatically not to even consider an online doctoral program. Do you folks agree?

[msparticularity]

At the risk of detonating an A-bomb, which I do not intend to do, I have been counseled rather emphatically not to even consider an online doctoral program. Do you folks agree?

Yes!!!!

Really and truly, if you want to have any future at all in research, do not consider an online doctoral program. Online graduate degrees are fine for professionals who just want to satisfy continuing education requirements and move up the salary scale--they can even be a really good option for letting you take interesting courses that are not available locally. They are NOT any preparation at all for research.

So, if your grades look okay now and you can get some contract teaching experience (3-5 years), then you are a great candidate for a PhD program. And graduate assistantships in high-demand areas like SpEd are not really all that hard to get at many state institutions, although you have to be willing to live on the stipend and/or work an extra job and have a pretty crazy life for awhile. This is because the demand for SpEd educators is insane, not only at the K-12 level, but in higher ed as well. Just go in and read the job listings here on the Chron for awhile, and you'll see what I mean.

On the research, it's terrific that you've "got the bug," and there are actually a fair number of teachers out there who do research. The nice thing about AERA is that it's not just people in higher ed--it includes K-12 educators and people in associated educational fields. Many larger school districts also have research offices that oversee human subjects studies, so you don't need affiliation with a campus IRB to do human subjects work, either.

So, are you doing human studies, or more theoretical stuff in your research so far?

[larryc]

No online program. No.

And I don't think you should be doing a PhD at all right now. Go to work, and get a few years of experience. Save your money, grab every professional development opportunity that your school district offers, and subscribe to a journal or two. Continue to present at conferences if you can. And in five years apply to your program and watch them roll out the red carpet for you.

[laurel_knx]

Ms. Particularity is always right, especially with regards to education fields. You have to teach K-12 before you can teach at the college level in SpecEd. As for whether you could teach with a master's, I'm not completely sure, but I would think that given the demand for instructors in that field, it might be possible to adjunct with a master's once you have some classroom experience. But then you'd be teaching K-12 all day and adjuncting in the evenings, which would not be my cup of tea.

You can definitely continue doing research as a teacher. Collaborations with classroom teachers are also really important in education research, so you don't have to go it alone either. In fact, the value of your research might be greater if you collaborate with someone with more research training.

If you decide to go back for the PhD, there are lots of threads about older folks getting PhDs. It's not too late in your mid-to-late 40's. Definitely do not go online. Any reasonably good College of Education will be able to offer funding for good students.

[flamglam]

Thanks to all for your advice!

I am currently maintaining a 4.0 GPA, so my grades are excellent. I am in my final semester of coursework before student teaching, so hopefully I will finish with that 4.0 intact.

I have very specific research interests involving severe emotional/behavioral disabilities. Would it be best for my K-12 teaching experience to be in those settings? For example, I am interested in correctional education for juveniles as a research area, so would I be best served to teach in a juvenile detention center? Or should I get more general experience prior to beginning the PhD?