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A Ph.D. in management is required to become a professor in the business department of a university. It can also be used to start a career in consulting, although industry experience is usually necessary for this career.
Most business professionals have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in business, and some workers have specialized degrees in finance, economics, computer science or another area of expertise.
Resource: Top 20 Most Innovative MBA Programs, Ranked by Acceptance Rate
The only reason to get a doctoral degree in management is to teach in a university, and while business professors may have slightly better job prospects than professors in many other subjects, tenured positions are becoming less and less common as universities hire professors in part-time or adjunct capacities. Management professors can find work teaching in community colleges or online schools more easily than traditional brick-and-mortar institutions, and aside from a few top professors, most people interested in business will make more money working in industry than in academia.
How to Get a Ph.D. in Management
Getting a doctoral degree in management is no different than enrolling in other Ph.D. programs, but obtaining a teaching position after graduation requires some preparation while you’re still in school. Unlike many other subjects, a management degree doesn’t translate very well to high school teaching because most high schools don’t offer this subject. A Ph.D. student majoring in management should prepare for an academic career in higher education by taking on as many internships and research opportunities as possible while still in school. Management is considered a social science, and the type of research performed by people in this subject includes quantitative work as well as research dealing with unquantifiable data, such as human decisions and leadership. Because there are relatively few tenured positions available for graduates, it may be necessary to obtain several part-time jobs or one full-time position supplemented by part-time work.
If you have the right skills and find the right opportunities, a career in business academia can be very rewarding because it offers more personal autonomy than a career in industry. Business professors generally make their own schedules and work lighter loads than lab research professors or top-level business executives. For people who are genuinely interested in management science, spending the bulk of their time doing research is a pleasure, and the prestige associated with being a professor is an added bonus. In addition to publishing high-quality research, professors must be effective teachers with excellent public speaking skills and the ability to motivate students.
Salary and Job Outlook for Business Professors
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, business professors earned a median salary of $89,100 in 2012, and the top-earning 10 percent made at least $162,840. These high earners taught business courses at famous universities such as Yale and Harvard. Job growth for business professors is expected to be at least 19 percent over the next ten years, which is faster than average. However, this large increase in demand for professors is offset by the decreasing number of tenure-track positions and rising number of part-time jobs in academia.
It takes a certain type of person to have the interest and dedication needed to be a business professor, and the universities in the U.S. will always have a need for new professors. If you’re the type of person who naturally finds business and management interesting, consider getting a Ph.D. in management.
