Hello All

Apologies for the title wanted to grab your attention I am just wondering is doing PhD and a career in academia really that BAD! I mean I dnt think ive read a single person who enjoys it or is glad they decided to pursue this route. For individuals such as myself debating on going into a career in lecturing (marketing) it really puts you off.

Would you recommend going into it? or would you tell me to not even bother

I don't think it is all doom and gloom! I do enjoy academia but it is a tough area to work in for lots of reasons. I love research and have enjoyed doing th PhD so I would recommend it personally. I also started teaching last year and on the whole really love that too.

I think lots of us use this forum to vent our frustrations. There was a recent thread about what we love about research and also the positive points about doing a PhD (honest!)

Hi Fluffymonster

Thanks for the reply .Mind if I ask your advice?

Of course not. If it is about whether to do a PhD then that is a complicated question. I would suggest thinking about why you want to do a PhD first. Do you love your subject? You have already said you want to lecture so that is good, you do (mostly) need a PhD to do that. Do you like research? Dim question, but if you don't then 3 or 4 years slogging away at a PhD will be hard going! Are you someone who can motivate themselves?

I would recommend it but I found it very hard going at times!

Hi Fluffymonster

When I was in uni I really did toy with the idea of lecturing. I enjoy presentations and public speaking doesnt bother me. I really enjoyed the subject of marketing. What appeals to me about lecturing and the life of an academic is the level of interaction you have with people. Prob not during the actual PhD stage but afterwards. I am currently working at a desk job and I really dnt like it ! No interaction with anyone and I dnt enjoy what I do. I am quite an outgoing person and I feel as though im being wasted where I am. I want to know though after you do your PhD what are the job prospects like? opportunites to work abroad? holidays?.

Every so often we get someone criticising exactly the same thing, without paying attention to the good bits. And sometimes we do get people listing the positive experiences just because they assume it is a different thing to do so. I don't think this forum is depressing at all. It is one place where we can share experiences and get advice when things go wrong (and when things go wonderfully well). If you look at the off-topic section, you would see that we also have fun. And every other day there are threads reporting events that make all of us so happy; things like passing vivas, making up with supervisors, achieving goals etc.

Well, you are the complete opposite of me! I hate public speaking mostly (am much better) and never wanted to teach. I do love it though and am better than I thought I would be. I am sure with a natural desire to interact and love of public speaking you will be great. You seem very enthusiastic about your subject and that too is a fantastic and necessary quality.

Post PhD there are lots of things you can do. My love is research so I want to stay in academia. Ideally I would like to get a lectureship so I can continue to do research. Now that I know I can teach and actually do like it, this seems the ideal combination for me. My Uni is very research focused so this is a great combination.

I am not sure what your feelings about research are, but I do know of people who teach in teaching focused Unis so maybe this would be more of an option if teaching is your love. Obviously you would need to do the PhD first anyway, so research is inevitable at this point.

cont'd....

I know people can work in industry post PhD too so that would be an option (especially marketing). I was also speaking to someone who does some of our staff development and she was telling me that quite a few post docs ask about moving from academia to undertaking some of this development work (e.g. running presentation workshops, confidence skills for PhD students, courses for new teaching staff about engaging students). This is very hands on and people focused. It is not for me but apparently is very popular (she is fab though!)

Hi

I do really enjoy marketing and would very much like to undertake more research. I also like the idea of seeing my name on a published document. As for the interaction bit someone told me that there is no interaction and ur just behind a computer on your own all the time is that true? Also what about quality of like. As a lecturer do you get the same holidays as the pupils? Also what is the earning capacity of lecturers ?

Although I enjoy the research aspect I think I would be more drawn to the teaching side

Earning capacity depends markedly on your field and area of research. And no way do lecturers get the same holiday time as students! They get the same holiday entitlement as any other type of employment, and the time during academic terms is usually used to catch up on the research (and admin!) they haven't been able to do whilst teaching.

I personally would love to stay in academia - researching is great fun, and I've lectured and supervised dissertations, and I really enjoy that interaction.

A job in industry is for wimps

Ok, no you don't get the same holidays as students (I wish!). I get 26 days which I think is pretty much standard. Bank holidays and University days (about 3 per year I think, e.g. this Tues) are on top of the 26 days. We also get Christmas (24th-2nd or thereabouts). Holidays are good!

Earning potential, it's hard to say as our Uni has just gone through pay modernisation. Maybe £25 upwards. I know some of the senior lecturers are on 30-40K. It's not bad potential but lectureships are not easy to come by, they are very competitive.

Do you have a Masters? Apologies if you have already said, I can't remember. Most people have a Masters before applying for a PhD but it is not unheard of to apply directly without one. I was just thinking that if you don't, it might give you a better idea of what would be involved in a career in research/teaching and whether it was for you.

Howdy

Yeah I thought the holiday thing was just a myth!lol

I know I just need to get out of the situation I am in. There is vey little work and the lack of interaction with people is really getting to me ! Its actually having a determental affect on my health. I sued to be such a happy person but now I find myself getting more and more depressed!

I just realised I didnt answer your question about the master

No I do not have a masters, just my basic degree and my work experience for two years. Do you think it would be wise to go into a masters first?

I think I would suggest it but it won't be cheap. It is difficult to get bursaries for Masters. I would have a look at what is around and seriously think whether you want to give up a year of your life to study (for Masters) and drop the salary. It never does any harm to do your research and see what Unis are offering which courses etc though.

Marketing is a really tough school to get into lecturing wise. You will be expected to have considerable 'hands on' experience in industry plus [probably] a PhD. That is unless you've undertaken considerable work with a big time agency. Not trying to rain on anyones parade. Have a look at the Lecturing job ads in the THES, they usually detail suchlike.