The big news in my life was the completion of a 'terminal'
degree. It is called that since, for most people, a doctoral degree is usually
the last one you will earn. That does not count honorary degrees of course.
They are not earned at all, merely conferred.
A few years back I got this idea to complete by education by working on a Doctor of Philosophy degree. It is one of the flavors of doctorates that are out there, and has a special value for those of us in the college classroom. Does it have any value? That is the $64,000 question.
Unless you plan to teach, soon or later on, or unless you are working for an employer that values such a terminal degree, you probably will not want to enter into this game. Sure, I learned a lot of stuff, and also got to exercise my research and writing muscles, but the main value for me is on the completion of the degree, not in what it gave me along the way. However, I am a special case I think. After all, I have been on a tenure-track appointment for 11 years, earning promotions and tenure along the way. In that position, I have had to do the research, engage in writing projects and perform all of the steps in the academia waltz, the dance that defines your career in higher education. I saw many of my fellow Ph.D. students doing these things for the first time, or in some cases, failing to do them and falling by the wayside.
One thing those not in the Ph.D. games do not understand is that the only thing you do that marks the completion of your journey is the dissertation. It is not so much that the classes do not count as that they are just clinics to get you ready to write the big paper (or book in some cases). It seems the whole thing is about proving you can design, manage and execute a big research project while upwardly managing your committee chair, navigating the political landscape of your committee, all while juggling a life and its other commitments. Everyone who has earned a doctorate has proven something -- that they can finish the endurance test called a dissertation.
Many of my colleagues here at work have said the equivalent of 'welcome to the club'. They are correct, it is a club, and now I am a member.
A few years back I got this idea to complete by education by working on a Doctor of Philosophy degree. It is one of the flavors of doctorates that are out there, and has a special value for those of us in the college classroom. Does it have any value? That is the $64,000 question.
Unless you plan to teach, soon or later on, or unless you are working for an employer that values such a terminal degree, you probably will not want to enter into this game. Sure, I learned a lot of stuff, and also got to exercise my research and writing muscles, but the main value for me is on the completion of the degree, not in what it gave me along the way. However, I am a special case I think. After all, I have been on a tenure-track appointment for 11 years, earning promotions and tenure along the way. In that position, I have had to do the research, engage in writing projects and perform all of the steps in the academia waltz, the dance that defines your career in higher education. I saw many of my fellow Ph.D. students doing these things for the first time, or in some cases, failing to do them and falling by the wayside.
One thing those not in the Ph.D. games do not understand is that the only thing you do that marks the completion of your journey is the dissertation. It is not so much that the classes do not count as that they are just clinics to get you ready to write the big paper (or book in some cases). It seems the whole thing is about proving you can design, manage and execute a big research project while upwardly managing your committee chair, navigating the political landscape of your committee, all while juggling a life and its other commitments. Everyone who has earned a doctorate has proven something -- that they can finish the endurance test called a dissertation.
Many of my colleagues here at work have said the equivalent of 'welcome to the club'. They are correct, it is a club, and now I am a member.
