If you have either a Bachelors or a Masters degree in the school of business (including Accounting, Finance, Management, Information Systems, Marketing, HR etc.) then you may want to consider enrolling in an AACSB accredited Doctorate Programme.
Currently there is a great shortage of Doctorates in the field of academia and Business schools, and its only getting worse as the time progresses. Hence if you start your Phd or DBA from AACSB accredited university now, you are virtually guaranteed a teaching job at a University or a College upon graduation.
Teaching experience is preferred but not required, especially if you go in a high-demand field such as Finance or Accounting. I am personally aware of a fresh Finance Phd with no teaching experience getting hired at a US university at a starting salary of $150,000 annually. Remember, you can easily pick up some classes to teach here and there while you are working on your Doctorate.
The best part is that most full-time PhD programmes are not only FREE, they also pay you monthly “salary” in the range of $2000 - $3000. The important thing you must remember is to choose an accredited university from the AACSB website for your doctorate to be accepted and taken seriously.
If you can not leave your current job, there are some options of part-time and distance-ed external doctorates as well, but typically they will cost you depending on the university.
I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. I would also request Lucid and other people from Business academia to please contribute to this thread.
aah Jayzee bhai,
you're still in your honeymoon period with the Ph.D. :D
Although it might be an attractive career for some, it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Also, as mentioned by kb above, research is a major part of a doctorate as well as the career that follows it, so if one doesn't have the aptitude for it, then, it's certainly not worth the time investment.
In addition to the time investment for a Ph.D., we should also account for the opportunity costs of pursuing the degree. For example, the stipend that is paid to students is pretty negligible compared to what somebody may be earning through a regular job in his/her field of expertise.
I'd also like to say that based on my own experience and that of some of my colleagues, I would certainly not recommend that someone with just a business degree jump into a doctorate. You need to explore your options, work in a corporate environment, teach a couple of courses at college level and get a lay of the land so to speak before making this very important decision. I've seen way too many people join a Ph.D. program for the wrong reasons, and consequentially abandon the program or live very miserably for the duration of the program. In my own case, I spent almost four years in teaching and three years in a corporate environment before deciding to do a Ph.D., and still I feel that I wasn't exactly ready for what was involved in a full-time academic career.
Malika, it takes 3-4 years depending on the university. Some universities (specially in Europe) have rolling admissions, so a person can enroll any time.
X2 bhai, excellent article. My point exactly.
Kaka, true, research is part of Phd studies, although less so in a DBA programme. I never said there would be gain without pain :-)
Lucid, what can I say, honeymoons are addicting :-) Indeed, like I said, researching is part and parcel of doctorate studies, but after you are done with your doctorate, you can always choose a career at a Community College where there is almost 100% teaching and 0% research. Additionally, these days even some universities are allowing the option of close to 100% teaching to the newly hired Phds. So if you don't like research, there are options.
As you know, these days many people are unemployed, so for them this option becomes even more attractive. You get FREE studies, free room and board, a salary from university, and an awesome career if you like teaching or research. So if you are willing to do the hard work, there is light at the end of the tunnel; and a very lucrative light at that.