How hard is it for a Ph.D. holder to find a faculty/teaching job?

Question

I think many Ph.D. degree holders, particularly those in the social sciences, want to land a tenured faculty position at the university/collegiate level. However, not all, or perhaps a majority end up in research or some applied position other than teaching. So, how difficult do you think is it to land a teaching job even with a Ph.D.?

Answer 1

It's not that easy to answer. There are just too many variables.

What is the PhD area? Some are in high demand, others are swamped with qualified applicants.

Is the person willing to relocate? There are good teaching positions that are unfilled because of geography.

Is the person able to sell himself/herself effectively? Having a PhD doesn't guarantee candidates are doing a good job of communicating their strengths and their appropriateness for a position.

All that said, unfortunately too many schools continue to cut back on tenure-track positions because it is easy and cheaper to hire adjuncts, part time or term appointments. That attitude does a disservice to everyone, but of course is particularly distressing to the candidate who wants to commit to a "permanent" job.

In many areas, a couple years applied experience on top of the degree will make a candidate even more attractive for the teaching position, so all is not lost if it doesn't happen immediately.

Answer 2

I completely understand, and it really depends on the field and whether or not there is a demand in combination with... would you relocate?
For example... some folks that I know studying Linguistics. What are they really going to do with a Masters in Linguisitcs... really not much if they want to have a descent pay. I've asked all of them... they want to get their Phd and be professors.
I am getting MS in Speech Language Pathology. THERE's a huge demand for SLP's with doctorates to teach. I know the ASHA president and she's told me that there's a critical shortage.
As soon as I finish and as soon as I can get into a doctorate program I will....
I work at a university and it's amazing to see the benefits and salaries of some of these professors...