Keep my Instructor-level job or PhD in Rhet/Comp TESL Linguistics

[papergrader83]

I have been teaching for a US university abroad for 7 academic years at the Instructor level (started at 20K and now at 30K+ a year, plus room and board, health, etc.). Not a bad gig after getting my MA in TESL, but there's no hope of promotion though there have been small raises. I'm the senior faculty member here, so even if cuts happen, I'm fairly safe.

 

Now that I'm married, though, I'm looking for a position that might get me back to the States. A PhD just bolsters one's ethos abroad and, of course, is just required in a lot of job searches in the US.

 

When I do the math over the next ten years, I'm struggling to justify basically not working for 5 years --especially when assistant profs (if I were to land that hard-earned tenure-track position) make about 50K a year (with all the US bills to pay).

 

I sent out applications for PhD programs in Rhet & Comp programs with TESL and/or Linguistics subfield focuses, but gosh, I really don't know if I'm making the right choice. The field's exactly what I am interested in; I've attended conferences here in India and have even published in a humble peer-reviewed journal related to language teaching in Asia. So there's no lack of interest in the research.

 

Though it's impossible to know for sure, I could really use some perspective from anyone out there about whether or not I should (if offered tuition waiver, stipend, etc.) go for a PhD in Rhet/Comp with the TESL/Linguistics/Pedagogy angle, or if the job market's really that fickle and I should just keep my position here, keep my head down, collect the modest paycheck, and ride this international teaching gig out to the end.

[juilletmercredi]

This is not my field, so I am discussing this purely from an outsider's angle.

 

What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?  How about 10?  Do you still want to be an ESL instructor in your abroad country?  Or would you rather be teaching English composition and rhetoric at the PhD level?  How about university administration?  Do you maybe want to become an academic advisor, a department chair, a dean, a provost?

 

The median salary for assistant professors ranges from $58,000 to $77,000, depending on what kind of institution they are at.  Associates range from $70,000 to $88,000 and full professors from $92,000 to $135,000 per year.  It usually takes 6-7 years to go to associate and then another 7-9 years to go to full, so we are talking about 13-16 years into your profession...but 13-16 years from now do you think you would make at last $90,000 as an instructor (including the value of your room and board) at your UK institution?  Or ~$70,000 6 years from now?  (You've already been teaching 7 years - you'd be a tenured associate professor at most places by now.)  Does that matter to you?  (Averages found here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/08/aaup-survey-finds-average-faculty-salary-increased-rate-inflation-last-year)

 

Do you want to do research?  PhD students are expected to do research during their schooling, and professors are typically expected to do some research at least pre-tenure (and at top schools, post-tenure too).  You said you don't lack the interest, but do you have a strong interest in research?

[papergrader83]

Thanks for the reply, Latte Machiato.

 

Not to quibble, but here's what I'm seeing in Higheredjobs.com's salary survey, at least for my field: Professor $63,993; Associate Prof $56,956; Assistant Prof $50,206 (http://www.higheredjobs.com/salary/salaryDisplay.cfm?SurveyID=25).

 

Anyway, of course, I'm not doing it for the money, but it is something to think about now that I'm doing the family thing.

 

I see what you're getting at, however. Ph.D. = more options. I guess I just really want to make the most informed decision possible. I definitely want the research and am constantly writing/researching to keep active, to become a better teacher, and to CV-build.

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback. It's exactly why I came here.