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  • From: Rob Barrett <rcbarrett AT gmail.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Doctorates or not
  • Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 11:24:30 +0100

I thought I'd just chime in with a few personal comments on the question of doctorates and their value.

I studied science and technology and received a PhD from a well-known US university in applied physics about 15 years ago. I subsequently worked at a major corporate research lab on a variety of technical topics with a good number of respectable publications, patents, etc. During these years I worked almost exclusively with PhDs of various disciplines and at various levels of seniority from newbies to world famous scholars. A few of my research colleagues were research peers, though without PhDs. In some cases I still don't know who has a PhD and who doesn't. I also supervised student interns that ranged from undergraduates to postgrads, and helped supervise a few doctoral dissertations. I am now on leave from that job to do a PhD in biblical studies in the UK. I'm 39 and my wife and I felt that it was getting close to the "now or never" point for becoming a full-time student again, so I'm extremely pleased to have this opportunity, since I tremendously enjoy the academic life and learning to study the biblical text better is a dream come true.

The question of the value of education at various levels is a frequent topic of conversation, both with my extended family (some of whom have a disdain for those who are "overly educated", in which group I am usually placed!) and my work colleagues. At work we would struggle over the best way to manage people of various educational levels in a research environment. We would often comment on the undeniable but difficult-to-describe difference between PhDs and non-PhDs. Something seems to happen in those 3-5 (or many more!) years of PhD studies.

My own theory is that the experience of having to "do the research thing" once is a transformative experience. It is very difficult to bear the responsibility for learning the current state of a field of study, choosing a viable research topic within that field, executing on that topic, articulating the results to the standards of the academy, and defending those results so that they stand as worthwhile even to those who disagree. I'm sure it is possible to learn these things and have this experience in other settings, but the work of a PhD is the usual way to get it. Having done it once seems to make a difference in the kinds of independent research work someone is capable of doing. (Although it seems that having done it once in physics does not necessarily make it easier to do in biblical studies!) Again, there are other ways to gain these skills, but the PhD process has been a good one for me and many of the people I know.

One other point that I think is important is that I don't believe PhD work is for everyone, and it doesn't mean the PhD person is "better" in any sense than a non-PhD. As others have posted, life circumstances play a major role in who follows this path and who doesn't. There are certainly many people with PhDs who have less sense, maturity, and even knowledge than those who don't. In the qualification-oriented world we live in, a PhD will open some doors (and close others!). It's a choice each person has to make as to which path they want to follow. But to a certain degree, having done the work leading to a PhD seems to contribute significantly to preparing a person to do a certain kind of work well.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. I hope I haven't said anything too offensive, and I appreciate all I learn from lurking on this list--from people whose backgrounds are mostly unknown to me (though it's always fun to follow signature links to see your web pages!).

all the best,
Rob
http://coffeewithbarretts.com/






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