Road to a PhD

From one of my favorites: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1171

When I graduated this past year from Claremont School of Theology, I could not escape the eerie sense of foreboding that the career I was stepping into was eroding slowly before my eyes. Working as an Adjunct Professor this semester at the local Community College, and making near-poverty wages, I am faced with the reality that the road to a PhD is not financially feasible for me (or heck for most people). This punctuates my ever-evolving search for a career, sense of identity and my dilemma with education in general.

My dilemma: Forecast for fewer jobs in the near future

I jumped into an MA because I was genuinely excited to learn more about the Christian faith and its implications for my personal devotion. What the degree earned me however, was neither respect in the field nor a clear path forward. Looking back, a Masters in Divinity would have given me a clearer path, but I was committed to this vision of following the academic trajectory; ie writing papers, and not necessarily working intimately in a church setting. This year, I have been discussing the next option with my professors from graduate school and outlining my concern about the job market and my prospects afterwards. To be honest, each professor has confirmed my suspicions -- a PhD in religious studies holds an increasingly bleak prospect for employment.

Although I am fascinated by the study of religion, the PhD would set me back about 5 years and I would not most likely have a job for a few years afterwards.

So, where to next?

I have been pursuing an education program here at Pima Community College and things are going well. Receiving a teaching certification and working at a high school might become my chosen path. I might also begin dabbling in other aspects of education as the future is more or less in some form of direct assessment, or internet based learning (perhaps a competancy-based course is the beginning of such a thing). I might also receive a tenure position here at Pima Community College where I am teaching as an Adjunct Professor (although that is mostly unlikely). Or the position might transition into some sort of online component (you never know). And finally, there is this blog where I will continue to conduct and comment on research in the field.

New Frontiers

I am writing this post to help those who are in a similar situation. If you want to wallow in the reality of the field here is a great post to check out. When you are ready to move on, here are some tips things to learn (I'm working on these myself)

• learn basic html / Dreamweaver
• learn Camastia
• master Photoshop

Once you have developed these 3 skills, you can increase your marketability and hopefully land some entry-level job in sales, marketing or a non-profit. You could also try and eventually teach your own online courses or write for a growing online magazine. The horizon is actually quite open when you disentangle yourself from the mind frame that the academy (brick and mortar school) are all there is to a quality career doing what you love. Well, that is it for now. Best of luck to all fellow humanities majors!