AACSB, the premier accrediting organization for business schools, has allowed me to share my career journey. Today they have published my article “My Path to PhD: Transitions From a 20-Year Corporate Career to Higher Education.”
What I’ve tried to detail here is the START of the journey. The typical path for a PhD are those coming directly out of full time bachelor’s or master’s degrees, spending five years in a doctoral program and then going on to an academic teaching position. When you have an alternate path, it’s not easy to really understand the information that is available about PhD programs, particularly if you are looking for a nontraditional format that allows you to keep working while you support your family.
I’ve done my best in this article to go through my search process and things I found that would be important to become EMPLOYABLE as a professor at the end of the program. It is very easy to be duped by non-accredited programs who may have very interesting degree options but, at the end of the day, will not result in your being an employable professor at an AACSB-accredited business school.
I am so thankful to have found the wonderful PhD program at UNC Greensboro in the Bryan School of Business. This program is challenging, rigorous, and (despite my late nights and current lack of sleep) I know I will become a capable researcher. I also am very grateful for the amazing group of PhD students in our cohort who are so well accomplished, thoughtful, and supportive!
