Prospective Ed.D

[Functionality]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to work as a school administrator at the community college level, so I would love to hear any piece of advice that you are able to offer. A little bit about me: I graduated from U.C. Berkeley as a Political Science major with two minors in Public Policy and Education. I am currently working on my Master's in Political Science at CSU Long Beach to hopefully teach at a community college as a Political Science professor. After teaching for a few years, I am hoping to use my experience as a professor to apply to an Ed.D program in order to work as a community college administrator. I don't have any experience in teaching, so I'm hoping to work on that by teaching at a community college after I complete my Master's degree in Political Science.

What are the job prospects of actually becoming a college administrator after completing an Ed.D program? Do any of you have any words of wisdom to pass on to me?

 

Thanks!

Edited August 30, 2013 by Functionality

[hesadork]

Re CC teaching with only a master's in a field like poli sci: not so easy.  There is such a flood of unemployed (and underemployed) PhDs that master's level folks are often crowded out.  I think you'd be looking at adjunct-ing at best, but there's no guarantee of that.

 

When you say "CC administrator," what kinds of roles are you envisioning?  That might help determine what training would be most appropriate.

[Functionality]

I am envisioning a role in administration such as a dean, vice president, or president of a community college. I'm trying to figure out how I would be able to make myself competitive enough for an Ed.D program. I am stuck on how I am able to be accepted into an Ed.D program if I am unable to find a job after my Master's. 

Any further advice is appreciated. Thank you!

Edited August 30, 2013 by Functionality

[hesadork]

Dean or VP of what?  Admission/Enrollment?  Student life?  Finance?  People that end up in those positions at CCs tend to be career higher ed administrators, not scholars or folks with teaching experience (even if they've earned doctorates along the way).

 

Experience teaching has little bearing on your competitiveness for admission to (post-secondary) education doctoral programs...

Edited August 31, 2013 by hesadork

[Functionality]

I am looking into Admission/Enrollment and Student Life. How would I be able to be a competitive applicant for an Ed.D program? I'm completing my Master's now and would like to teach, but my goal is to be part of administration.

[ZeChocMoose]

Generally, people start in entry-level positions in student life or admissions/enrollment and work themselves up to the dean or VP level (if it ever happens).  This usually requires more than a decade of working in the field (perhaps two decades or so in competitive locations) and moving around to different institutions to gain middle management experience.  

 

That being said, have you ever worked in this areas?  I would probably try to secure an entry-level position in one of these areas before deciding upon this is the career path for you. 

 

Teaching experience (as hesadork mentions) would not be a factor for these type of positions.

 

Most Ed.D. programs are not competitive in the sense that they accept more than 50% of the applicants that they receive.  Usually the model is that they are part-time programs for working professionals in the field of higher ed.  They typically do not fund their students so people either take out loans and/or receive tuition assistance from the college or university that they are working at.  

 

There is also some debate on whether they are worthwhile programs as some people in the field believe that the degrees lack rigor.  Have you researched what type of degrees do CC VPs/Deans of admission/enrollment or student life have?  I would also look at recent job postings for these positions to see what credentials or experience CCs are looking for.  Usually the job postings on the Chronicle, HigherEdJobs, AIR, etc would have some of these positions listed. I would also try to talk to admins in CCs to get their perspectives. I have only worked at 4-year HEIs and I know that how things work can be different between 2-year and 4-year schools.   

[Functionality]

I'm unsure of how I could secure any positions within those areas with only my bachelor's degree in Political Science. I am enrolled in Political Science master's program now hoping to teach at a community college in order to understand more about the environment and atmosphere of the college. I was thinking that by teaching at a community college, I would be able to be more closely involved with administration and hoping to gain experience that way. Did I choose the wrong path by pursuing a Master's in Political Science....?

[ZeChocMoose]

Entry-level admissions/enrollment management positions are reasonable to secure with only a bachelor's degree.  I imagine it would be more difficult to get an entry-level student life position as they tend to be more popular and sometimes require master's degrees.  

 

That being said - you really need to get some relevant experience in one of these areas.  Are you a full-time student?  It's a bit late in the game to be doing this with the semester starting, but I would look to see if you could get a part-time student position or even an unpaid internship in one of these areas at your current institution or a nearby institution.  Even if it is only 10 hrs/wk, you'll be able to gain experience which is key in this field to eventually secure a paid full-time position.

 

Not to be discouraging - but I would be really surprised if you are going to be able to secure a position teaching political science at a CC with only a master's degree and no teaching experience.  It's just too much of a gamble for the department head and as hesadork has mentioned you are going to be in a very competitive pool with candidates that have higher degrees and years of relevant teaching experience. Unless of course, you have some professional connections at a CC in political science, but I imagine you would have mentioned that.  

 

And also if your goal is go the CC administration route, teaching as an adjunct really doesn't make much sense.  Adjuncts generally just teach their class(es) and leave.  They are not involved in the daily life of the university in the sense that they would be working with administration or even faculty within their own department!  It's a pretty hard life as universities only pay a couple thousand dollars per class which forces adjuncts to teach several classes per semester (sometimes at different institutions) just to make ends meet.  They generally don't receive benefits either.  Have you had a conversation with your advisor about job outcomes?  I would recommend doing this soon!

 

At this point (assuming that you have a year left on your master's), it probably makes sense to just finish and use this year to gain some relevant experience in student affairs or admissions/enrollment. 

Edited September 1, 2013 by ZeChocMoose

[Functionality]

I just entered my Political Science Master's program thinking that I would be able to get into adminstration, but I just realized that this program might not be for me. Is this is a smart idea right now to drop out and focus on finding entry level administration jobs with the intention of using my years off as experience to get into a Master's program in Education?

[hesadork]

If you're clear that you want to be in administration, then yes, I would give this option serious consideration.

[ctcpx084]

I can speak a little to the difficulty of getting on to a university/community college faculty. This semester I was hired at a local university as an instructor. I am by far the youngest and least experience person in the department, and my appointment is only for one year. When I interviewed, they told me that they would look to hire someone with a PhD/EdD, or someone who is ABD. I'm starting my EdD next week, so right now I only have a master's degree.

 

So, just to get on faculty for a one year appointment was a miracle, due to a slew of retirements at the very end of the semester. To -stay- on the faculty beyond May would be whatever is beyond a miracle!