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The others have great points! I second the observation about is another degree going to make a difference in your employment prospects? Times are hard... says the internet... and that means that academic jobs are slashed.
I know of at least 2 first year ass profs who are not being brought back for a 2nd year... and I only have 4 professor friends. So, that's half... Bad sample, I know, but still, university politics is hardcore and unless you are a superstar, there are more doctoral candidates than there are fulfilling research positions.
My one piece of advisement, make sure that you can answer the question, "why do you want to pursue this area of research?" You'll need a better answer than... "can't get a job with the 3 degrees I already earned." You don't necessarily want to come off as a professional student.
That being said, I empathize with you, I toss going back to school around almost weekly.
Go to a professional school (med pharm dental, phys ther) or get an accounting/finance/business/Computer science/engineering degree.
You will have to either be independently wealthy, have a "sugar daddy" or take out student loans for the health care degrees. There are some small scholarships available, but that's it.
I did. So it can be done. However, I have a hard time thinking someone who did three masters and does not have a clear idea for a doctorate would compete for the fellowships/assistantships. I am not saying you could not do it, but to get a full ride, you will need to come up with a compelling research proposal. In my case, I submitted an application for a National Science Foundation fellowship, which I did not get. But that proposal and grad app. were picked up by the school, and a full ride assistantship with supplemental scholarships was offered by another faculty member. Point is, I was probably no more qualified than you, but I did have a pretty clear research proposal which paid off. So, if you do your homework, it might pay off, but you have to focus in no something you are really good at, or can convince someone you would be good at.
Would it be possible to be accepted into such a program, and receive an assistantship that pays enough for me to cover my living expenses while I am completing the program, without incurring any additional debt whatsoever?
Please contact me directly if you need more information. Due to privacy concerns, I don't want to reveal my full name and contact information here.
Yes, most good programs will fund you either with research or teaching assistantships while enrolled, as long as you are making progress towards finishing.
You should check with the programs you are interested in applying to for details.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marie5v
If you have three master's degrees and still can't get a decent job, I wonder about your choice of subjects and ability to network/be political/kiss butt when necessary. To succeed as a PhD you really need those skills more than a good GPA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiddlehead
I did. So it can be done. However, I have a hard time thinking someone who did three masters and does not have a clear idea for a doctorate would compete for the fellowships/assistantships. .
Seems OP is a picture perfect illustration of USA k-22+ EDU model. (I.E. go to our worthless schools (for EDU content) THEN decide to look for a job... expect to be successful. The rest of the world's developed countries take a more strategic role in not WASTING their greatest asset. (innovative and creative people / skills).
I would suggest you FIRST latch onto a career field that you are passionate about and have a proven capabilityof being a superstar contributor to that industry. I would not spend anymore time in school UNTIL you find YOUR SPOT on the "Real Road". Heaven knows we don't need anymore directionless Professors leading our impressionable learners (and potential talent) off the cliff.
Time to find your spot. You have a long career ahead of you (gonna be really long if you don't start earning some Green, or marry into money.) You will get plenty of opportunity to use your previous learning's.
I assume you have current school debt, I would be working a graveyard shift to get that paid off.
Have you considered the military? They have an uncanny way of getting folks on track, (and paying off SOME school debt, potentially ALL)
The reason why most Ph. D. programs are funded is no one in their right mind would pay tuition for one especially in science. You spend 5-8 years as a slave to the university and your PI only to end up with worse career prospects than a high school dropout. That is why Med school costs a ton of money (it is worth it) and Ph. D.'s are free (really not worth it). At most Ph. D programs especially in science native born Americans are a distinct minority. That should tell you something. When you are going in one direction and everyone else is fleeing with panic in the other they probably know something you don't.
To update my initial posting, I have three master's degrees. My goal is to integrate as much of my previous education as I can into a doctoral research program. I also will consider going anywhere in the USA.
Why the USA? You better rethink this one VERY carefully. If you're coming here because somehow you think it's some kind of haven for the gleaming Ivory Tower, you better get sober real quick. You might be picked up primarily due to the fact that foreign GS are willing to work for very little. I've heard WAY too many sob stories from foreign students who get here and find that all their illusions were shattered when they ran into situations where they couldn't afford to live on what they were getting paid.
Moreover you better do a whole lot more research into what is happening with NSF/NIH grants, and what is taking place with research money. Too many tenured profs, which is suppose to indicate some kind of expertise in the field, can't find research money, and the ones that do find some are getting less than in years past. Point is that if research money is being cut, then the need for PH.d's is far less than ever before. And if so, then the need for PH.d candidates is as well. If you're thinking that the US is the place for you to get big money for science, then I would suggest you are poorly informed regarding what's going on here.
I don't know you, but from perceived sentiment of the OP, you may be laboring under some bad thinking. As one other poster wrote, figure out what's going on in the real world regarding whatever field it is you want to study before you make the jump to come over here. We really don't need any more foreign students getting our tax money simply because TPTB don't want to pay US grad students a higher salary...
Sure you can do it.... maybe. But you will need to be extraordinarily well connected or just plain lucky or both.
My son graduated from undergrad five years ago with a double major in physics and math, and departmental honors, magna *** laude. With great luck he parlayed an internship between his junior and senior years with the graduate dept chair in physics who is connected hugely to FZK in Germany(comparable to Los Alamos in US but not so much to weapons and more to pure research), to a full year internship there. This led him into a full ride and living Stipend from the university for his PhD in nuclear physics. He is finishing his dissertation now, but because of his experience in Germany he already has 5 papers in major physics journals with his name as the primary author, and many many more where he is a secondary author. His dissertation is an advancement in the field.
But no one could deny that he is not smart, very very lucky, and willing to work himself to death after every one of his luck events.
Get a Ph.D in Biology or Chemistry and you can then have fun being turned down for being overqualified for most jobs or simply being one of the huge oversupply of science Ph. D.'s in an economy that is looking for cheap foreign slaves to do scientific research.
Go to a professional school (med pharm dental, phys ther) or get an accounting/finance/business/Computer science/engineering degree.
A science Ph. D. will just make things worse for you. First off, you need to be lucky enough to find an advisor that will mentor you and help you develop a viable thesis project and not use you as a cheap lab tech. 50% of Ph. D. candidates (up to 75% in really bad programs) get screwed at this stage. Then you are about 1 of the 10+ Ph. D. candidates competing for each Ph. D. level job. So you get a lousy $35k post-doc if you are lucky having to relocate, have no benefits, and work like a dog. Then you spend the next 5-10 years going from post-doc to post-doc searching for a real job only to have your career finally dead end at age 40+ looking for a new career in an economy that is looking to hire 30 year olds. This is the typical trajectory for a science Ph. D. now a days and it is no wonder more and more Americans are shunning it.
I was surprised to learn (just today) that the two post-docs that sit behind me in the office are earning $60k. It's not great, but it's decent. They do hail from Ivy's, so I don't know if that makes a difference.
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