I am looking for "only teaching" jobs. Is it necessary to have a PhD degree in economics to be able to teach at a US university or would a masters degree do? What are the pros and cons? Serious answers please.
Need PhD in Econ to be able to teach?
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If I understand correctly not all universities offer "permanent teaching job", right? And yes you are right about the transferring teaching loads to graduate students which can go either way if you are teaching the course! No authority but full responsibility and liability.
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CCBro here, not logged in.
You can get a job, conceivably, without a PhD. (I don’t have one.) But it’s a hard row to hoe. Since you specified University, I assume you aren’t interested in community colleges, but that’s where you’ll find jobs at the intersection of TT and no doctorate.
Even the flagship in my state system wants PhDs for its clinical professor positions in econ (although there are a couple in the math department who are PhDless).
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Back-in-the-day i.e. circa 1980s, there were a bunch of Masters' Degree holders teaching introductory courses in low-ranked colleges. IMO, those days are over. Even Community Colleges want Ph.D.s.
Mostly. But there is a well worn path to a CC TT job with a masters degree and it goes through adjuncting.
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How is it teaching at a CC? In terms of students, workload and pay? I did not mean specifically universities. I really enjoy teaching and would be able to do so, I don't much care where it will be as long as its a reasonable one.CCBro here, not logged in.
You can get a job, conceivably, without a PhD. (I don’t have one.) But it’s a hard row to hoe. Since you specified University, I assume you aren’t interested in community colleges, but that’s where you’ll find jobs at the intersection of TT and no doctorate.
Even the flagship in my state system wants PhDs for its clinical professor positions in econ (although there are a couple in the math department who are PhDless).
Also, adjunct does not sound like a bad option, given I can surely use the free time to do other things in my life! Any thoughts on adjunct positions? Or something to keep in mind and be aware of when making decision?
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But they want a Ph.D. eventually. That was not the case a couple of decades ago.
Tell that to the MAs we’ve hired recently. Listen, man, I’m telling you. There’s a path to teaching in a CC with a terminal MA. It’s hard and it involves adjuncting. But you don’t need to BS about getting a PhD “someday”.
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CCBro here, not logged in.
You can get a job, conceivably, without a PhD. (I don’t have one.) But it’s a hard row to hoe. Since you specified University, I assume you aren’t interested in community colleges, but that’s where you’ll find jobs at the intersection of TT and no doctorate.
Even the flagship in my state system wants PhDs for its clinical professor positions in econ (although there are a couple in the math department who are PhDless).How is it teaching at a CC? In terms of students, workload and pay? I did not mean specifically universities. I really enjoy teaching and would be able to do so, I don't much care where it will be as long as its a reasonable one.
Also, adjunct does not sound like a bad option, given I can surely use the free time to do other things in my life! Any thoughts on adjunct positions? Or something to keep in mind and be aware of when making decision?My CC has a teaching load of 5/5, nominally three preps. It’s not unusual for it to be two preps, usually some combination of one semester survey and principles of micro and macro. You will not have time for research. There will not be a research expectation. Other people who have never worked at CCs have the idea that this is changing; they’re incorrect, in my experience.
Pay here is about 15% lower than the directional about twenty minutes away, no idea how it compares to the R1 yo the street that feeds us summer students. I wouldn’t be surprised if pay there is double. I am not rich but I am happy.
I adjuncted for several years working a full time position and gradually paring it back as I became more of a fixture. I was fortunate that there was a retirement a a time I was available. You have to work hard and deal with uncertainty. Adjunct pay is miserable. Here it’s not unusual for adjuncts to be paid about $1000 per contact hour ($3000 per course).
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DGS here at department with UVLRM PhD program. I often get requests about our program from prospective students who want to become a "college teacher". It seems that OP is in a similar situation and should keep the following in mind:
1) A PhD is a 5 year, 60h/week commitment, and you will have to produce publishable research. It is a research degree even at lowly-ranked programs.
2) You won't get a job at the place you did the PhD, and you need to be geographically very flexible. We have not placed into CCs, but all of our students find a job-mostly in academia. They typically start off with some non-TT position in the secondary market, and after a year or two end up with a TT position at a directional state school or regional LAC. But they have to go wherever life takes them.
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To CCbro: While I am at it, some of our students may be interested in CC jobs. Two questions:
1) Where should they look for CC jobs? Is higheredjobs.com the best resource? They are usually not posted on JOE.
2) Almost all of our students are international. CCs ought to be H1b quota exempt. Do they usually sponsor international students?
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To CCbro: While I am at it, some of our students may be interested in CC jobs. Two questions:
1) Where should they look for CC jobs? Is higheredjobs.com the best resource? They are usually not posted on JOE.
2) Almost all of our students are international. CCs ought to be H1b quota exempt. Do they usually sponsor international students?1) The best thing to do is to go directly to the schools you want to work at. We make an effort to post places like higheredjobs and such but the only place a job is guaranteed to be posted is the school’s employment listing.
2) the school I’m at doesn’t sponsor adjuncts. This is a stupid decision and it hurts us. E will of course sponsor someone with a TT offer.