Possible to work teaching in the States with a UK PhD?

[OrangeBubblegum]

Hi all,

 

I am studying a PhD in Social Psychology in a UK university and am currently looking at career options. Rather than a career primarily focused on research, I think I would like something more heavily focused on teaching. As a result, I believe a job teaching psychology at a community college could be an ideal fit for me. There are thousands of these types of colleges in the United States and I would happily move wherever I was offered a job. However, do you think it is possible for someone with a PhD from the UK to get a teaching job in a community college in the US? Does anyone know if this is common? I am worried that US colleges only hire people from the US or that they wouldn't want to go through the hassle of getting a working visa for an international applicant. Do you guys think this is a possible career option? 

[veggiez]

I am no expert at the US immigration laws, and I am sure someone who knows more can comment, but I have never known America to turn away people from other countries who want to teach, and you could definitely find a school here that really loves diverse perspectives, such as someone from the UK. This is all just based on my impression of American universities, but I think it is definitely a possibility.

[Bionica Von Takedown]

I am in a Biological Anthropology class right now and my prof. is from the UK and completed all of her schooling in UK. I cannot say for sure if this would be the same case for you, but it is at least a little bit of info

[sdt13]

I was considering applying to UK PhD programs (and still am pending my US/Canada response) and I was told that given the lack of teaching emphasis in UK PhD programs, it may be a bit more difficult to land a job that focuses more on teaching. Now this may not apply to your program specifically, but this was the advice I was given based on the research-heavy institutions I am interested in.

 

[jmu]

Something to be aware of, and this will vary by state, but many community/junior colleges do not hire professors but use adjuncts/contracts to fill the majority of positions. The reason for this is generally that a community college typically is located at least somewhat close to a university and can pay grad students low wages (think $1500-2500 per course) while they attend school.

 

Don't let this discourage you, but it is something to consider.

 

An alternative might be to look into lecturer positions at universities as, from the emails I get from professional organizations, these seem to pay an actual, liveable amount.

[olayak]

My husband is British and has a UK degree and he had no problem getting a job as a professor here in NYC.  I also have had several professors who have been from the UK.  Unlike many other countries, UK degrees are widely accepted here, just like Canadian degrees.  I will say that getting any sort of adjunct lecturer or professorship can depend on many other factors such as teaching experience, how prestigious your phd granting university is, and how published you are.  But don't worry about having the UK degree, it shouldn't make much of a difference.  The hard part is getting the visa and/or green card!  Feel free to message me with questions!  Good luck!

[PsychGirl1]

Yep- one of my friends got his PhD in the UK and he is a professor here.

[JungWild&Free]

While I don't think that a UK PhD would be a problem, I seriously doubt that most Community Colleges have the funding to pay for the immigration process.  I have an old office-mate who got her PhD in Israel and had great credentials but a really hard time finding a job because of her visa situation.  Universities seem to be hesitant to do it unless they really strongly prefer one candidate.  In my experience, Community Colleges wouldn't have anywhere near the money to hire you for a significant salary, let alone help you immigrate.  I think teaching-focused Liberal Arts Colleges would actually be a better bet since there are several private institutions with the money and desire to bring in International applicants and those institutions tend to value diversity.