Completing a iv therapy mcallen tx degree is a significant accomplishment. This achievement represents the culmination of hard work, extensive critical thinking and research about the chosen field of interest, and the result is a contribution made in the form of new ideas, thoughts, plans, methodologies, and/or actionable recommendations.
Consider in contrast, the number of individuals who complete their coursework but not the dissertation portion of the doctorate program. Current research shows there is an unprecedented number of individuals who are at the “all but dissertation” or ABD phase, and it is unknown what weight or influence a doctorate degree with the initials ABD in the title may have, if any at all.
Also consider that a doctorate degree, in academia, is the highest level of academic achievement. As those of you know, it is also the costliest of academic degrees as well. In fact, the total number of people within the United States who possess a doctorate degree is less than 10%. Within academia, doctoral candidates are generally told they will become scholar practitioners, and they are encouraged to continue their research and practice what they have studied.
For those individuals who complete a doctorate degree, there is an expectation that their careers will change in some manner, especially given their new status as a scholar practitioner. I remember completing my Ph.D. approximately seven years ago. I chose Postsecondary and Adult Education as my major, since I worked in both the corporate world and academia, and I believed I could easily find an advanced career in either environment. Unfortunately I have learned, like many others, earning a doctorate degree does not always change a person’s career and that leads to my important question: What is the real value of a doctorate degree?
The Journey of a Doctoral Graduate
I have worked in the field of higher education now for over 12 years. Prior to working in academia, I worked in corporate America for approximately 20 years. However, I have not remained exclusively in academia as I have also accepted consulting and contract positions that have allowed me to work with organizational development and instructional design projects. As to my work in academia, most of my positions have been online teaching and online leadership roles, working with for-profit institutions.
I am certain most of you may know about the state of the for-profit industry and how most of these institutions have had significant enrollment drops. Some institutions have even been forced to close. There are new non-profit institutions taking over the market; however, the leader in this market is known for low pay and a reputation for offering correspondence-style courses, which will lead to accreditation issues at some point.
What all of this indicates is that adjunct online teaching jobs are becoming fewer year by year, and full-time positions are almost non-existent. When I began in 2005 there were more jobs than instructors and the “gold rush” began. Now that has 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 believe a doctorate degree gives you a competitive advantage, you would be just as disappointed as I am on a daily basis.
