Is There a Doctorate in the House? 
       Pursuing a Career as a Marketing Professor

Should you consider a career as a Marketing Professor? Here’s what some Marketing Ph.D.s say about a career
in academia: 

• Challenge and Personal Freedom.
  “After 10 years at a leading Marketing company, I decided to get my PhD in marketing because an academic
  career offers new challenges along with intellectual and personal freedom that I couldn’t get in my previous role.
  The PhD is a credential that opens many doors and unlocks many opportunities that a Bachelor's degree or even
  an MBA cannot. “

• Personal Freedom and Lifestyle.
  “You are your own boss in your own research world with very flexible hours. The job provides great work-family 
  balance, decent pay, and great opportunities to travel around the world.”

• Freedom and Research.
  “Academic research is different from doing marketing research as practitioner. As a practitioner, you are working
  for the client.  As an academic, you can wake up one morning wondering about why firms try to implement more
  technology that lessens salesperson-customer interaction and you can decide to spend the next 24 months of
  your life researching that issue.”

• Challenge and Research.
  “I’m driven by challenge – researching and finding the unknown is the ultimate challenge in the field of marketing.”
 
• Research.
  “I decided to get a PhD because of the research. I am intrigued by ideas of how and why things work or started. 
  I was even more fascinated by how, on a everyday basis, with how people are influenced to do things based on
  marketing.  I used to think it was is magic or something. I had to find out what was going on.”
 
• Making A Difference.
  “I was inspired by the opportunity to make a difference in students’ lives.”

  “You get to spend a lot of time around young people, talking to them about the things you feel passionate about 
  and hoping that you had something to do with the choices they make in terms of what to do with their lives.”

Marketing professors can make a difference in lives. Here's what students say about their teachers: 

“My marketing professor went above and beyond her call of duty by finding me an internship, writing a letter of
recommendation, and speaking with potential employers as a reference. She also helped me get my dream job in New
York.”

“You always seemed interested and excited about the material you were presenting. I feel like I have learned a lot
and, as strange as it may sound, I enjoyed every minute of it.”

“My professor was so effective that I’m now considering a career in retailing.”

In fact, marketing professors can also make a difference in both the quality of education and in economic
development: because their research makes what they teach relevant, it also encourages students to think
beyond current practice, ultimately affecting economics as a whole.

What do PhD programs provide for student?  They:
• Provide a depth of knowledge in the area.
• Train students for an academic career in research.
• Also train students to teach within the specialization.
• Require full-time commitment for 4-5 years.
• Pay monthly compensation through research and teaching assistantships, plus provide a tuition waiver.

What are some other issues to consider?
• The Business PhD is an endangered species.
• Studies estimate that some 500 spots for doctorate-holding faculty went vacant in 2003.
• The situation is likely to worsen—applicants are desperately needed!
• There are many well-paying positions!
• The 2004-2005 AACSB Salary Survey Report shows that:
   -- New doctorate new hires were paid $91,800 on average.
    -- The average salary for new doctorates at accredited schools was $93,200.

More information can be found at the Academic Resource Center. 
 

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