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The traditional career for recipients of the doctoral
degree is college teaching and research, or a research
position at one of the federal government laboratories.
The Ph.D., however, can lead to a wide variety of career
options in private corporations, where research and
development of new products or services are important,
or with government agencies, where the skill to analyze
large amounts of complex data is essential. For example,
a graduate student packet from the American Institute
of Physics describes Ph.D. physicists working in diverse
positions: physical oceanographer, air pollution expert,
science education consultant, computer software developer,
professor of history of physics, science journalist,
partner in a venture capital firm, astrophysicist, founder
of a small corporation, staff scientist in an instrument
firm, industrial ecologist, quantitative analyst with
an international bank, educational software consultant,
developer of speech-recognition systems, and radiologic
physicist (APS 1994).
If you know you are interested in pursuing research
or in teaching in higher education, then the Ph.D. is
the way to go. In today's environment, the market for
full-time faculty positions is highly competitive, so
positioning yourself as advantageously as possible is
a must, and you need to start the process as you are
considering graduate school.
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you are in graduate school, look for opportunities
to research related fields. Read material that is
perhaps not exactly matching your area to get ideas
on solving your own research problems. Attend seminars
to get ideas. And then publish your own excellent
research. Get involved! To build your leadership
skills, get involved with an organization, such
as your department's graduate student organization.
Get to know your fellow grad students and professors.
Enjoy the years of grad school, because soon you
won't have such flexibility again. Don't just put
yourself through all kinds of torture just to reach
the end (the degree), but instead enjoy the means
to the end as well, and enjoy the research and the
time in grad school. Remember that "It's not what
you know, but who you know." Conferences are excellent
places to network and make contacts. Just by attending
these conferences, you and your work will be scrutinized.
The impressions and contacts you make at these gatherings
will become valuable as you start looking for academic
positions. |
Is
the professorate a career that you really want to pursue?
This is a question that you must earnestly answer as
you consider whether to pursue a doctoral degree. In
his book Tomorrow's Professor, Richard M. Reis has several
recommendations to help you evaluate whether you want
to pursue an academic career.
First, in terms of research, in addition to carrying
out and publishing your own research:
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Present
your research not only in your own department but
in other departments and at other universities and
conferences, to gain an understanding of what it
is like to teach and present to different audiences |
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Supervise
other researchers, since that will be an important
part of being a professor at most institutions |
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Manage
research projects and programs |
Second,
to assess your interest in teaching, pursue a variety
of ways to gain teaching experience:
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Teaching
Assistantships: As a TA, find ways that you can
take on more of the responsibilities that a professor
has with a class so that you can gain those higher-responsibility
skill. |
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Guest
lecture for lecture classes or seminars. It is easiest
to guest lecture on your area of expertise and research,
but it could also be advantageous to lecture on
the underlying fundamentals of your field. |
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Teach
class segments or modules. Again, it is best to
start by teaching within your area of specialization.
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Team-teach
classes with an experienced professor. |
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Teach
a regular course either in the regular semesters
or in summer school |
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Teach
at a local community college or technology school.
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Teach
extension or community service courses. |
A
note of caution: teaching is a time-consuming activity,
so do not overcommit and end up doing a poor job!
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