The Waiting Room

I am in this weird place with my job. I am sort of stuck where I am because I don't have the "right" doctorate. As I have blogged before, many in higher education feel that a Juris Doctor is an inferior doctorate. And, although I have applied to law schools in Elsewhere, and have made it through the first and second rounds,  those positions are extremely competitive. 

I've also found that I really like the administrative aspect of my job. Right now, my job is 70% administrative and 30% teaching. My administrative role allows me to develop the program, as well as nurture faculty.  I learning much of the inner workings of the college, and I kind of like that stuff. 
Finally, with all the crap that is going on at our campus, it may be necessary for me to be ready to jump to a new position at the college or jump ship altogether. That means I need to have a plan.

So, guess who is going back to school for her PhD?

I've been thinking about this for a while. But, I wasn't sure if I could balanced work and life with school. So, I enrolled as a non-matriculated student at Elsewhere State University for the fall semester.  I am going to try one class to see if I like it and if I can balance it with everything else. The program that I am interested in is primary for working professionals, so the classes are held after work. Plus, my supervisor is ABD in the program that I would like to pursue, so he has been a great source of information.

The other reason for going non matriculated is that I have to take the GRE again. I guess Elsewhere State does not believe that a person who already holds a Master's degree and a Juris Doctor has proven herself worthy to do doctorate level work. Now, I only have to score in the 50th percentlie to be accepted, but for me, it's strictly principle. So, I will start reviewing GRE crapola soon too.

Did I mention that my job will pay 75% of my tuition? Yeah, that's huge incentive. 

I am excited and scared. I have not been a student for 16 years. Plus, I've been the instructor for 10 years. It will be a little weird. I have a lot of support for this. Husband is 100% behind my decision. He wants me to be happy and says we have the money to make up what my college doesn't cover. And, I got happy tail thumps from Junior.  My supervisor is very supportive and is helping me select classes and even giving me help with narrowing down a dissertation topic. It's a new adventure for me.

One baby step at a time.