Part-time PhD...Doable?

[rebarton2]

Rel,

I've just spent a glorious hour avoiding work and reading the continuing saga of Samantha the Red. I'll echo all the praise - it's wonderful! Truly wonderful! I feel inadequate as a Daddy - we've only played "Connie" (Neverwinter Nights) on the Computer and told a billion "Princess Katie of Fairtower" stories. It had never crossed my mind to LARP some of this. Now I know the truth, and it is GOOD.

I'll try to come to the NC game day in April. Maybe even Princess Katie will come, if, that is, another Siren will tag along too.

Thanks for the inspiration.

REB

 

[Rel]

Rel,

I've just spent a glorious hour avoiding work and reading the continuing saga of Samantha the Red. I'll echo all the praise - it's wonderful! Truly wonderful! I feel inadequate as a Daddy - we've only played "Connie" (Neverwinter Nights) on the Computer and told a billion "Princess Katie of Fairtower" stories. It had never crossed my mind to LARP some of this. Now I know the truth, and it is GOOD.

I'll try to come to the NC game day in April. Maybe even Princess Katie will come, if, that is, another Siren will tag along too.

Thanks for the inspiration.

REB

Thanks for the kind words. The fact that this has been inspirational to other parents always warms my heart. If I keep it up, God might let me into heave after all.

Hope to see you at one of the NC Game Days. If you don't keep regular tabs on the front page of the General RPG forum, the best thing to do is check the NC Game Day site once in a while for exact dates and signup.

 

[nakia]

Nakia,

Looks like my best time will be Wed (11/2) evening. I will probably be in Columbia until ~ 7:00 - 7:30, which would put me back up in the Charlotte area ~ 8:30 - 9:00 PM. We can meet in Rock Hill, or, if you don't mind driving a bit, we could meet at Ri-Ra's in Charlotte. I can probably scare up a couple of my old gaming buddies to meet us, but I don't know when you turn into a pumpkin (not to be confused with "carrying the pumpkin") or if you have an early morning the next day.

Tuesday night would also be a possibility...I am giving a speech in Wilmington over lunchtime and will be back up in Charlotte ~ 6:00 PM, but may need to schedule dinner with clients that night.

~ OO

If you don't mind dinner in Rock Hill on Wed, that would be the better way to go. Thursdays are my long day (I teach all my classes and go until almost 8:00) so a late Wed. would make Thursday suck. We could meet just off I-77. There are a bunch of resturaunts and stuff at exit 79.

I want to make this convienent for you as well, so let me know what's gonna work for you.

 

[nakia]

OO and Rel,

Yeah you sussed me out. I'm one of those closet gamers - buys all the stuff and dreams of the glory days (last die rolled seriously ... 1996/7 ... arghhh!)

I've seen the Gaming Day stuff over at Raleigh in the past. NOw that I've got tenure, I just may give it a try .... I don't have to worry as much about perishing (grin). Besides, it's almost time to introduce my 4 1/2 year old daughter to the glories of PnP gaming.

REB

Oh, and welcome rebarton! Congrats on tenure. I just started my tenure track position at Winthrop.

 

[DaveStebbins]

Old One, I cannot add any good advice to what has already been written above, but I can offer encouragement. One of the members of my gaming group just finished his PhD in Engineering this past spring. He did it over a span of seven or eight years (so your timing estimate is not far off) while working full-time as a Design Engineer. If he can do it, so can you.

If I keep it up, God might let me into heave after all.

Best. Typo. Evar.

-Dave

 

[fusangite]

For all of you professional students out there ...

I know we have a number of PhDs/PhD candidates running around on the boards and I have a question for you. One of my dream "retirement" jobs would be to teach history at the college level. I will probably start working on a MA in history (part-time) in the next year or two and then begin go for a PhD after that. Assuming it takes me 3 years to finish my MA, how long should I budget for a part-time PhD?

I'd say 6 years. The thing is that the further along your grad school career you go, the more of your time is taken up as a source of cheap labour as a teaching assistant. So, By the time you are in the third year of your program, you're working 20-30 hours a week anyway as a TA; so you will find that once you have completed your PhD coursework, the speed at which part-time versus full-time students proceed isn't much different; all that's different is where your money comes from.

 

[Rel]

Best. Typo. Evar.

-Dave

God assures me that he will punish you for that, Dave.

 

[Xath]

You need a PhD to be a faculty member at a university, especially if you care about job security and tenure. If you just want to teach at a community college or do some adjunct work at the local U, then an MA will work, but a PhD will be better.

Not necessarily. Some of the faculty at UMD only have a Masters. Some don't even have that. At some Universities, you only need equivalent life experience to become a faculty member. Although, I'm speaking from the Theatre department, not History. I'd bet it's a bit more difficult to get degree equivalent "life experience" in history.

-Gertie (who is getting a B.A. in sewing)

 

[Rel]

I'd bet it's a bit more difficult to get degree equivalent "life experience" in history.

I dunno. He's not called "Old One" for nothing...

 

[Xath]

I dunno. He's not called "Old One" for nothing...

But it still limits the areas where he'd be able to teach.