Taking Time Off Between Masters and Doctorate-Advice Needed

[ajacot924]

Hey Everyone,

I am getting a Master's in Elementary Education and teach full-time.

I would like to get my Ph.D. because I want to teach on the university level.

This is my question: do people typically take time off after the master's or do they go straight into the Ph.D?

Financially I need to work full-time so quitting to do my Ph.D. isn't possible.

If I were to get enough funding, it may be possible so that isn't my main concern.

My main concern is that my husband and I want to have a baby after I finish my Master's.

I could possibly be working full-time, pursuing a Ph.D, and be pregnant/raising a new (our first) baby all at the same time.

I am wondering if it would be better to wait until my child is born and things are more settled. Also, it is more likely that my husband and I will be in a better place financially and it will be more possible for me to quit my job and pursue my degree full-time.

My concerns are that:

1. It may be more difficult to return once I have been out for awhile.

2. Will I be able to get recommendations from professors who haven't taught me for two or three years?

3. Will admissions committees frown upon my two-three year gap?

I would appreciate any advice you could offer me.

Thanks!

[Vader Was Framed]

First off, I'm not in your field. I am in the sciences so cannot speak directly to education.

From what I can tell in reviewing the top programs I am interested in, the majority of PhD students have not gone straight from undergrad > master's > PhD. The majority have at least some experience in industry, non-profits, govt research labs, etc. Now there are, of course, some exceptional students who have not taken any time off from school and excel. But I think having experience will better equip me personally in getting the most out of my (hopefully) future PhD studies. Regarding your specific concerns:

1. If by difficult you mean taking a paycut, increasing your hours. Well yes. But I don't think it's more difficult to accepted to a program per say.

2. LORs will be more difficult, but you need to make a focused effort to keep in touch with some key faculty after you have left your master's program.

3. No, but try to not completely "check out" from research activities so not to have a huge CV gap.

That said, during my master's I did work with a few PhD students getting their doctoral degree in Science Education and they were in their early 30s. I would imagine in education it could only help that you have real-world teaching experience.