September 16, 2013 by David Fitch
The Perils of Doing a Ph.D.: Be Forewarned

I saw this on Facebook via my friend Nathan Smith. It’s a graphic about those who do Adjunct teaching as a vocation to earn a living. It’s a disaster especially in the field of theology and ministry. It’s from this post on Progressive Geographies.

The takeaway for me is:

a.) do a Ph.D. only if it’s paid for, and if it’s part of a vocational goal that is not full time teaching. Ph.D.’s can be helpful to those in various fields – writing – research – editing – publishing etc. One can even pursue ministry while teaching in a University/seminary as a side hobby (but not the means to earn a full time salary).

b.) In ministry, after one has sufficient practical experience, engaged in serious theological reflection, writing and publishing, full-time teaching opportunities may emerge. You didn’t necessarily plan on this. It happened and it does happen. In fact I would say practicioner/scholars is the wave of the future in the seminaries. But one should not see a Ph.D. as direct one-way ticket to a job in teaching.

Any other opinions on Ph.D. careerism out there? What’s your experience?

David Fitch

David Fitch (Ph.D) is a longtime pastor in Chicago, and the B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He teaches on the issues the local church must face in mission including cultural engagement, leadership, and theology. He's written multiple books, including Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission (2016), and the forthcoming 2024 release, entitled Reckoning With Power: Why the Church Fails When it's on the Wrong Side of Power (Brazos, Jan 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack.