Some Colleges Go on Hiring Sprees

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Your only concern is business. A university is so much more than business. Look at the humanities and sciences. The business of engineering is, well, engineering. The business of the humanities is society, politics and culture.

Understanding the hard facts of the business world might be helpful for, well, business majors, but that's only a small part of any university.

The pre-professional programs I know of, in advertising, journalism, public relations, accounting, etc., are not necessarily the best ways to break into those fields. In fact, companies in those fields sometimes prefer students who have a broader background.

Dan Asta of NY 5:48PM February 09, 2009

Mark, in good times, a PhD will stand you in good stead in the corporate workd. I know plenty of people who landed good jobs because companies needed people with research capabilities, among other skill sets developed by many people with PhDs.

The problem now is, a bad economy AND no university jobs. A double whammy, if you will.

Dan Asta of NY 5:44PM February 09, 2009

We are victims of the best ponzi scheme in the world. If you have children in school (from elementary to college) ask the instructors how much official contact there is between any department and a private sector business owner or manager. You'll receive a blank look. Traditional academia has no relation with the decision makers in the job market place. Teachers push specific disciplines based on their personal (unreal) view of the market will demand. Who can predict if your or your child's degree will be demand in 4 or more years from now? Even worse, you may the right degree but no connections based on the closed academic circle. CEO's making speeches at schools are cute, but the "sales manager for the NE territory" is in the trenches and knows what he/she needs in a new hire.

There needs to be a structured mentoring process integrating small biz and corp America. Not summer intern projects but weekly "part of the curriculum" participation that lets students know in real time if they've made the right decision.

CAP of FL 7:02AM February 02, 2009

Business Schools are hiring a lot. It depends which field you are.

There is no need to do a post-doc if you want to go into Business School, and the pay is great.

rnthnl of GA 4:12PM February 01, 2009

I am just preparing my master's and I already feel that I have to stabilize for a job because I am getting old. I know your feeling , it's always the reverse .if you had no Phd , they would require one.I just don't understand why they hire people that had some specific experience and leave people who spent a lifetime in research?

rachid of MD 3:03AM February 01, 2009

I'm amazed at how hard it is to get a faculty job at a university in North America, and how many people out there are applying for these jobs. I have 2 obscure peer-reviewed books and half a dozen peer-reviewed essays in my field, some contract teaching experience, but still no luck....Admittedly, my field is narrow so there's not many jobs in it to begin with, but when I started my PhD 10 years ago, grad students were told of all these university jobs that would be out there when we graduated.

Seems a lot listened, given the 100 applicants for that one world history job. But with so many applicants, universities can pick and choose who they want until they get the perfect fit. However, those left behind are often seen as over-qualified for the non-academic world and many employers, not understanding the university labor market, are wary of hiring people with PhDs for fear that they'll quickly be lost to universities. I'm honestly thinking of omitting my PhD and other things from my resume. But then how do I explain what I did for 10 years? :)

Mark 3:27PM January 31, 2009

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