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What is the best move for PhD studies?


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I am thinking of applying to PhD Studies in the next maybe 2 years. What might be a good strategic move for someone with both a BSW and and MSW (non clinical)?  I want to go to a school with a robust research support  but to have another degree in Social Work would be overkill. I want to obtain a PhD that speaks to the current economic climate if possible.

Also gotta add I've been out of school for 10+ years and out of this game for quite some time.

My options are a PhD program at UofC, UofA or another school that has a distance based PhD program.

 

 

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What is your motivation to apply for a PhD Program? I think the strategic move would be to find out what sort of outcome you're looking for and work backward from there.

Do you want to move into a research career, perhaps as tenure-track faculty?  A PhD in the field in which you wish to conduct research is your best bet.

Do you want to open up greater economic opportunities for yourself? A PhD is probably not the best route. If you are interested, obtaining clinical licensure alongside your existing MSW would probably be more lucrative (and a much shorter timeline).

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I want greater economic opportunities (six figures) and also do more of what I love (research). My motivation to apply for PhD studies is to return to research. I have hit the ceiling in terms of pay already. I am working on my clinical license and have done private practice work in the past. I plan to complete the designation as a part-time/retirement plan.  In the interim though, there aren't many more moves I can make that pay as well or more. I minored in public administration and also non-profit management because I wanted to lead. I've applied for an MPA (step out of my current discipline to some degree but not a step up). My thesis was a mixture of sociology and anthropology. I look at performances of culture and what it means to different bodies. All great stuff but that's not what the market it looking for. I would love to look at the monetary cost of social issues in the workplace, for example. Or understand performances of power as understood by the bodies impacted by power. Interested in culture (workplace, schools, etc.), identities and social policy. . 

 

 

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I would encourage you to spend time refining exactly what your research interest is more narrowly and see who is doing that sort of work and what program they are faculty in. I am a big proponent of the research-match first approach to determining where/what program to study.

I would discourage you from obtaining a PhD to increase your salary in vague terms. If you know a specific career you want requires doctoral-level education in certain fields, start there. PhDs are not guarantees of jobs, much less high paying ones.

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