>>> Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]> 11/12 3:22 PM >>>
>Hi all!!
>
>I'm probably going to open up a big can 'o worms here but there's something
>that's been bugging me as I plow through all these job announcements.
>
>Why are advanced degrees required?
<snip>
> I also get grumbly when I see education positions requiring an advanced
>degree in the subject matter (like art or science) but coursework in
>education not being required.

Oddly enough, I get grumbly when I see education, writing, public info, etc. positions which DO NOT require further studies. For example, I have seen many science writing position ads which ask for a degree in journalism or english and some science classes would be preferable. That is bad. Every article I had read in the NYTimes science section on astronomy/astrophysics has contained several errors, often major errors (and I mean errors, not just generalizations to make it for the lay person to understand. I have asked friends in other science fields if the articles are as bad in those fields - apparently the typical science article in a newspaper contains several major errors). I can often tell where the author misunderstood the concept entirely, whereas a typical scientist would not have misunderstood. This is bad because then the public thinks and understands the wrong thing (example, not the NYTimes, I cannot remember the paper: press release announced the discovery of a p!
lanet around a star. The star was visible to the naked eye. Article in newspaper anounced discovery of planet that was visible to the naked eye.). I have run into a few journalists and teachers who did not study science formally that have learned it quite well over the course of their work, but from what I can tell it is not the norm. I presume it is similar in other fields such as art and history.

Scholars in any field need to be able to communicate with others in order to let their work be known and therefore continue in the field. Many do indeed get educational training in the form of teaching classes (okay, admittedly not the best training since it is not monitored, but some people are naturals). I do not think my Ph.D. gives me the qualifications to teach in an elementary or high school. University, yes. Writing articles for popular magazines/newspapers, perhaps. I think which sort of degree is needed depends on what the expected focus of the job will be.

I think others have answered quite well on some of the other aspects of why advanced degrees and/or experience are required, so I'll end my rant here.

     angela

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