What are the career
opportunities?
What are the career options after I complete
my PhD?
Remember that the purpose of a PhD program is to prepare individuals for an
academic/research career. However, there is no "one" academic/research career.
Across the more than 200 accredited master's or AuD programs (which may or may
not also have undergraduate or PhD programs), there is great variety in the
nature of the programs and the nature of careers that are developed within these
departments.
Some faculty positions are strongly focused on research and research
activities constitute the bulk of the professor's responsibilities. Some faculty
positions are strongly focused on teaching and teaching activities constitute
the bulk of the professor's responsibilities. And there are many variations in
between. You can find faculty positions that include clinical teaching and
clinical supervision, and those that do not. In addition, you can find
clinical/research positions, for example, at hospitals that include research in
their mission. There truly is an enormous range of possibilities; explore your
options by talking to faculty at different types of universities and Schools.
What is a post-doctoral experience?
Postdoctoral training is very typical as a career step for researchers in the
"hard" sciences (e.g., biology or physics) but it has been less common in the
social and behavioral sciences. However, postdoctoral training is becoming more
common in the social and behavioral sciences as it has become apparent that to
be successful in a large research university (i.e., Research Extensive
Universities) additional research training beyond the PhD is essential.
In postdoctoral training, the new PhD graduate typically goes to a university
different from where he or she got the PhD and continues research training with
a successful and grant-funded researcher. The postdoctoral training, usually 2
years in length, will typically involve working on some of the mentor's projects
and beginning to develop an independent line of research.
Funding for postdoctoral training can come from the mentor's grant funds,
from institutional postdoctoral training grants, or from an individual
postdoctoral grant. The NIH provides
post-doctoral funding.
In your PhD program, your mentor can provide guidance on whether postdoctoral
training is a good choice for you and on how to find a postdoctoral training
experience that will match your research interests and career goals.
What salary can I expect to earn as a brand-new assistant professor?
The American Association University of
Professors collects information on salaries that can be particularly
helpful. In considering compensation, one will want to consider the whole
compensation package - salary; retirement benefits, health insurance, and other
benefits; and typical raises (cost-of-living raises and merit raises) over the
past several years.
Most faculty members are on 9-month contracts and, if they choose, they can
earn additional compensation for summer school teaching or funded research in
the summer. Other faculty members are on 12-month contracts, and their salary
typically exceeds a 9-month contract salary. Many universities allow, and may
even expect. their faculty members to spend some time in consultation activities
that provide additional compensation, such as continuing education workshops.
What does a faculty member do in his or her
job?
Potential doctoral students typically understand the classroom-instructor
role of a faculty member. After all, they have spent years in college
classrooms. The other parts of the academic job seem to be less well understood.
A faculty member's job responsibilities are usually divided into three
categories: teaching, research, and services.
- Teaching can include typical classroom teaching as well as clinical teaching
or supervision and supervision of student research activities (undergraduate
research, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations). Most faculty members
teach two classes per semester, though this number may vary (more teaching, less
teaching) depending on other responsibilities.
- Research and other scholarly activities are part of all faculty members'
jobs, but the amount of effort devoted to research varies across universities.
When research is a major part of the university's mission, faculty members will
engage in research for a substantial proportion of their time, and many faculty
members will have extramural grant funding to support their research programs.
These are the same programs where faculty members will devote effort to training
PhD students. At smaller universities, research may occupy less of a faculty
member's efforts, and the nature of the research faculty members engage in may
be different. For example, at a small, liberal arts undergraduate institution,
the faculty member's research efforts may be focused on providing undergraduate
students initial research training.
- The services segment of a faculty member's job includes service to the
university, to the department, and to the profession or the community.
Activities can include, for example, advising students, serving on university
and departmental committees, and peer-reviewing manuscripts for scholarly
journals.
The best way to learn about a faculty member's job is to ask a faculty
member. You are likely to find many people who are willing to share the scope of
their job with you. And remember that the profile of activities in teaching,
research, and services that a faculty member engages in will vary by the type of
college or university in which he or she is employed.
Are there differences in jobs at different
universities?
Yes, jobs vary quite a bit across types of universities. PhD programs are at
Research-Extensive Universities and, thus, what you see your mentor in your
doctoral program do in his or her job may be quite different than positions at
other universities or Schools.
The Carnegie Foundation classifies
universities and Schools with respect to the mission of the university. You may
find this classification helpful in looking at jobs at different types of
universities/Schools. You can find communication sciences and disorders
departments at just about every type of academic institution.
Exploring the different types of jobs can give a prospective doctoral student
a good sense of the wide-range of opportunities available upon completion of the
PhD. Contact your professors from your undergraduate program and master's
program and ask them to tell you about their job. Ask them to refer you to
faculty members at other institutions who can share their experiences at a
different type of institutions.
Can I have a job where I do research but
don't teach? What about a job where I combine clinical work and research? What
about a job where I teach but don't do research?
You can find just about every type of job in communication sciences and
disorders (CSD)! There are some people in CSD whose job is completely focused on
research activities and teaching is not within their typical scope of
activities. These people participate in service activities, just like faculty
members who teach. There are also some people in CSD who divide the majority of
their time between clinical activities and research activities. You are likely
to find these individuals working at hospitals in which research is an important
component of the hospital's mission. And you can find some jobs where teaching
and service are the primary activities.
What about publish or perish?
Dissemination of knowledge is part of every faculty member's job, but the
nature of this dissemination can vary depending on the university's or college's
mission. The typical teaching of faculty members is part of dissemination of
knowledge. Publications, whether they are journal articles, book chapters, or
books, are important avenues for the faculty member's dissemination of
knowledge.
The number and types of publications that are expected of a faculty member
vary across types of institutions. Publications can include reports of research,
tutorials on topics of interest to the professions, review articles that
summarize and evaluate the current state of the art, and clinical application of
research findings as well as assessment and intervention procedures.
Presentations at conferences and professional meetings (local, state, national)
also are considered part of one's publication record. As part of the interview
process when seeking an academic position, job candidates will want to inquire
as to the university and department's expectations for publication and
presentation.
Will I lose my whole personal life to the
job?
Certainly jobs at universities and Schools are demanding positions, as are
many other jobs. Seeking a balance between work and personal life is a challenge
that seems to extend across the many years of a career, regardless of where that
career is spent. You should carefully consider and plan how you will balance
work with other personal goals and expectations. The Chronicle of Higher
Education has had many features on this topic lately; some of these
references are listed on our site . In addition, look for recent publications
in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
What is tenure? What's the difference
between assistant, associate, and full professor?
Understanding the hiring and rank system of universities is critical. Most
universities hire faculty on "tenure-track" appointments. Tenure refers to a
university's commitment to continue a faculty member in a faculty position at a
particular rank, typically Associate Professor or Professor, until the faculty
member voluntarily leaves or terminates his or her employment or retires.
Faculty members begin at the Assistant Professor level, without tenure. After
a probationary period of several years (often 5-7 years), the faculty member
hired on a tenure-track position is eligible to apply for tenure and promotion
to Associate Professor. Each university has a specified process for tenure and
promotion, as well as specified expectations for tenure.
When interviewing for academic positions, you will want to obtain information
on tenure and promotion; this information is most often available in some sort
of faculty manual and departmental documents. Faculty members are evaluated on
teaching, research, and services to determine whether tenure and promotion will
be awarded.
Promotion to Professor is considered, for the most part, several years after
promotion to Associate Professor. Although in a tenure-track position it is
mandatory to be considered for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor after
a specified period of time, promotion considerations to Professor are not
mandatory and have no time limit (nor any adverse consequences). If an Assistant
Professor is not recommended for promotion and tenure following the probationary
period and tenure review process, then the faculty member is given a terminal
contract (typically for a year) and seeks employment elsewhere.
In the probationary period, faculty members usually receive an annual review
and written feedback on progress toward tenure. In addition, there is usually at
least one extensive pre-tenure review in about the third year of the
probationary period. The Chronicle of Higher Education
has published many informative articles on tenure.
What about having a family?
Balancing family and career is a challenge for men as well as women.
Universities are becoming increasingly cognizant of the issues that confront
faculty members as they address their family obligations. Some typical issues
confronting universities and Schools include dual-career couples, childcare, and
maternity and paternity leave, to name a few. The
Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications have devoted much
attention to these issues in the past few years.
Not only have universities and Schools acknowledged that these issues are of
concern, but the issues have begun to be addressed at many universities.
Extensions of the tenure clock are no longer unheard of and child care options
on campus are increasing, for example. Importantly, there is a tendency for
these issues to be seen as family issues rather than as women's issues.
When looking for a faculty position, you will want to carefully consider your
expectations and think about fitting or matching your expectations with the
university's expectations of you. Ask about how the university supports family
issues. For many people, the flexibility of a faculty position can be a plus in
balancing family and career demands. Although clearly the work needs to be done,
the time of the day that the work is done may be flexible, for example. A
faculty member may choose to teach classes at night so as to balance child care
responsibilities with his or her spouse. Or a faculty member may choose to begin
the work day later so as to spend the early morning hours at home, or begin the
day early so he or she can be home with the children after school.
Will I have to relocate frequently?
Choosing to pursue an academic career can necessitate at least a couple of
moves. Many people find it necessary to relocate to complete the PhD because
they don't live by a university that provides doctoral training in their area of
interest. Typically, once you have finished the PhD you will seek employment at
a new university; very few people assume a faculty position where they have been
trained.
If you undertake postdoctoral training, you will most likely do so with a new
mentor, as the purpose of the postdoctoral training is to expand and extend your
research skills. Some people assume a faculty position where they have done
postdoctoral training, and some do not. So you may need to relocate after the
postdoctoral training.
Many faculty members stay at the same institution for the length of their
career, moving from assistant to associate to full professor. Because there are
now so many job openings in communication sciences and disorders, we are seeing
more movement of faculty from one program to another than is likely typical in
other fields.
Faculty may move from one program to another for various reasons, such as to
assume a position of leadership (e.g., become program chair), to take advantage
of career opportunities that are specific to a university (e.g., several faculty
working together in a particular area), to focus their professional efforts in a
particular area (e.g., increasing research efforts; focus on teaching efforts).
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