Career prospects of mediocre accounting (and other business) PhDs

[schweppes]

It seems to me that most of the posters on this forum are aiming for tenure track positions at top schools. Usually when people compare earning possibilities in academia and industry they refer to high paying jobs in private equity and other possibilities offered by Wall Street. This argument sometimes gets countered by the possibility of PhDs to get involved in hedge funds and do consulting on the side. Often the discussion then goes on to whether its easier to earn 400k at Wall Street or at a top research institution.

I myself feel that this discussion is highly irrelevant for my own career aspirations. I am not a top researcher and never will be. I know that I am not competitive or intelligent enough to work on Wall Street and earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. I do not believe that I will ever be able to publish in an A-level journal (but publication in less prestigious journals would be something that I could do). I also believe that there are many others like me as I read somewhere that only about 15% of accounting doctorates working in academia ever publish in A-journals.

However, I believe that I am intelligent enough to earn a PhD and I love research and teaching. Overall, I would describe myself as average or mediocre. I have studied at a mediocre AACSB accredited institution and I would also like to work at one. My goals career wise are to get a position in a teaching oriented bachelor’s/master’s granting institution and earn a decent living (about 100k) while doing teaching and some research. I do not want to work 70 hours a week and would prefer to have at least two months off during summers so that I would have time to spend with my wonderful family.

Are there any others like me? I believe that there are, as by definition not everyone can belong to the top 10 percent. What do you think are the career prospects of mediocre accounting PhDs like me?

[rsaylors]

Yep: many profs in Europe and the folks that hang-out in masters-only institutions for their first 6 years.

You'll make 100k and work 40 hours a week on average; barely publishing anything while you teach a 3/3+2 load. At the end of 6 years you'll fail to get tenure unless you publish every year-ish.

If you are going to play "B"ball, then you need to still put in 40hours a week so you can land articles every year or so; hard to do when you're teaching focused. Otherwise you'll fail to get tenure.

[demoralized]

I've kind of been wondering things along the same lines. What would your career prospects and earning potential be for someone who graduates from say a top 20 and publishes in B+, A- journals? I am guessing that it is going to be very difficult to publish in A journals (I had a Wharton graduate tell me that the median publications for Wharton graduates within the last 3 years out was 0), but is it comparatively much more doable to publish in A- journals (e.g. RAST, CAR)?

[phdhope]

Institution is irrelevant after your first placement and really is secondary to your teaching and publications (emphasis on publications). Publishing in A and even A- journals is tough, takes a long time, and requires huge amounts of effort. (I think that is my greatest understatement on this forum) For those who wish to give up on research, I think they made a error in career path and probably should have become clinical/adjunct professors instead. That being said, you can always teach a higher course load with much lower research requirements and earn quite a bit less. I don't think the pay drop is as intensive as the prestige drop. By teaching at Eastern Bermuda Polytechnic International (not a real school and hence non-name brand), you give up the chance of ever teaching in the big leagues and doing research.

[TraderJoe]

Depends on what you want to do in life. There are plenty of PhDs teaching in 4/4 (+2 for summer) schools. If you don't mind teaching 10-12 section per year and never getting a decent publication, that is fine.
Life can get quite boring.
At least in Finance area, there is a tendency for people who get denied tenure at the top schools to come to Wall Street and go after the $$$. Few people are content to resign themselves to a teaching-only career without any decent research prospects.
You probably need to avoid mentioning your career plans in your SOP. I think the schools want research-focussed PhD candidates.

[dusklife]

Well, to start, I think to get into at least 90% of the accounting PhD programs offered in the states, you need to be highly intelligent. Even the 'mediocre' schools want superior GMATs, grades, master's degrees, etc. I don't think I'd consider anyone in even the mediocre accounting PhD's to be 'average or mediocre' themselves.

That said, the job prospects from these mediocre programs still appear to be quite good due to scarcity in new PhDs, AACSB accreditation requirements, and the upcoming baby boomer retirements. Prospects are likely even better than for the higher level programs, given that someone coming from a higher program is probably going to want to work for a more elite research institution and cast themselves a narrower range of options on the job market. I also don't think your salary or work desires are unattainable.

I think 3/3 is more likely than 4/4 too at a more mediocre school if you're on the tenure track, but this is only from what I've personally witnessed. Of course, if you don't research this will change.

[charlesr]

If you graduate from an AACSB accounting PhD program, absent serious personal hygiene and mental health problems, you almost certainly will be able to get a TT position at an AACSB accredited school. Even the weakest of these should have no more than a 3/3 teaching load. Starting salary is in the 95-110 range. You'll need to produce some research but at the lower level schools quantity dominates quality. Consistently publishing an article every year or two should be sufficient for tenure at places like this.

I teach (but not in accounting) at one of these places.

[PhDCPA]

There are literally zero PhDs in accounting from AACSB schools teaching community college, as rsaylors implies. I know of many four year schools in very desirable locations that cannot hire accounting PhDs simply because there are not enough. I know of a small liberal arts school in the West that conducted a search for a new accounting faculty and stipulated that a PhD was required... and received zero applicants, then had to reopen the search the next year to MBA+CPA. The situation is certainly not as dire as rsaylors says.

That said, you'll be in for a shock if you do a PhD program because you want to teach. I've been on both ends - clinical faculty and now a PhD student - and the PhD is only worth it if you want to research. You can make as much money as a good clinical faculty vs. a bad research professor, and have time for consulting and such on the side.

[rsaylors]

PhDCPA, let me amend:

A Ph.D. from an AACSB accredited institution only leaves you academically qualified for a short number of years. I agree with what CharleSr. said across the board; I agree: I was being hyperbolic with threats of community college, though, if you do fail to pub every year or 2 then you're not likely to keep your academic qualification.

My assumption was 40 hours a week working only when school is in session; Which means you need to be good enough at research in-order to publish regularly while only working 40 hours a week... Which can be hard to do when teaching is your focus.

That said, you'll be in for a shock if you do a PhD program because you want to teach. I've been on both ends - clinical faculty and now a PhD student - and the PhD is only worth it if you want to research. You can make as much money as a good clinical faculty vs. a bad research professor, and have time for consulting and such on the side.

^ This is awesome advice!

[jazzy99]

[QUOTE=schweppes;881302 My goals career wise are to get a position in a teaching oriented bachelor’s/master’s granting institution and earn a decent living (about 100k) while doing teaching and some research. I do not want to work 70 hours a week and would prefer to have at least two months off during summers so that I would have time to spend with my wonderful family.

Are there any others like me? I believe that there are, as by definition not everyone can belong to the top 10 percent. What do you think are the career prospects of mediocre accounting PhDs like me?[/QUOTE]

Getting to your ultimate question, schweppes, I also agree with previous posters that career prospects, in terms of quantity of tenure-track positions available, are actually quite good for, let's just say, less research-motivated PhDs out there. I got my MAcc from a teaching school, and from speaking with faculty, there are numerous bachelor's/master's granting institutions which are in dire need of replacements for retiring accounting faculty. And while MBAs or CPAs are likely qualified to teach the courses, these schools require a certain percentage of PhDs, who produce periodic research, to remain accredited. The research output required though, is far less than top institutions - 2-3 articles over a 5 year period in lesser journals like JAE, and tenure after 3-4 articles. By contrast, at top research institutions, you may be expected to publish 5-7 articles in top journals to gain tenure. Charlesr's starting salary range of $95k-110k sounds on target, although I might say the top of the range is a bit higher (more like $125k), even for state teaching schools with 3/3 loads. Compare this with ASU's recent job posting with a starting salary of $183k+, and you can see the premium for research.

In fact, one may say your prospects are even better than top research aspirants just because top research universities will always have an abundance of job applicants while the smaller bachelor's/master's schools you are interested in have the greatest need and you may have the most choices in that setting.