Is a PhD worth it ?

[cna to crna2b]

I am sure this question has been asked before.Is it worth getting a PhD? I am currently a ACNP student on the masters level. I am considering pursuing a PhD afterwards to teach adjunct and possibly become a fulltime instructor. My question is will I get a return on my time and money invested in pursuing a PhD? If I were to teach at the NP level would I have an income comparable to being a NP? I would hate to invest thousands of dollars and countless hours away from my family pursuing a degree that would not benefit me. Thank you for your help.

[llg, PhD, RN]

As you probably expect, there are a lot of "it depends" aspects to this question. Most people don't expect or receive a big financial benefit from a PhD. They do it for the love of the work and academic life in general. A few are driven to reach those top rungs of the academic ladder and be Deans, lead research teams, national leaders, etc.

As an NP, your income potential is already equal to or greater than the average faculty salary -- which typically range from $55,000 - $90,000 depending upon the academic rank and type of school. Yes, some real top-of-the-line, full professors make a little more than that: however, those people are few and far between. Do some homework on faculty salaries in your area to see what is typical for your area.

You can teach undergraduate clinicals with just an MSN and an NP, but that will put you in the bottom half of that salary range quoted above. With a DNP, you can be in the top half of that range and teach graduate level students.

Your age is also a factor. If you were to get a PhD, at what age would you graduate? Would you have enough time left to climb that academic ladder to get to very high levels that might pay more than your NP salary? If you are not in academia now, you would have to switch careers to do so -- and that might mean taking a few steps backwards or sideways before moving up the career ladder. Would you be prepared to do that?

I have a PhD and work for a hospital. I teach a little on the side -- for pennies, essentially, compared to what I make in my hospital job. If I were to try to switch to being a full time academic, I would have to take a huge step backwards that is not worth it at this late stage of my career. So I keep my hospital job, teach a little for fun, and to keep that door open in case I want to ease into retirement by someday quitting my hospital job and teaching part time for a couple of years just before I fully retire.

Check your local job market to get the figures for your area -- and think about your long-term prospects as well as your short-term options in order to assess what would be best for you and your family.