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how to become a university professor
How to become a professor
Is becoming a professor right for me?
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High School
Even in high school, there are some preliminary ways that aspiring professors can prepare for their career:
• Keep up your grades / aim for a strong grade point average (GPA).
• If you have an idea of the subject you would like to teach, try to take as many classes in that subject as possible.
• Tutor in your spare time. This will expose you to the demands of teaching and will look great on your college applications.
Bachelor’s Degree
A four-year Bachelor’s Degree may be sufficient education to teach so-called career courses at a technical school. For individuals wishing to teach at higher levels, an undergraduate degree is only the prerequisite and foundation for further study.
It is not always necessary to pursue a Bachelor’s in the subject you eventually intend to teach. Some professors earn an undergraduate degree in one discipline before moving on to a different – though, typically, related field of study – at the graduate school level.
Master’s Degree
A Master’s Degree is often the common requirement to teach at two-year colleges. In certain fields of study and for part-time positions, some universities may hire individuals with only a Master’s and some practical experience.
While in graduate school, students can expect to form strong academic relationships with their professors. They may even have the opportunity to co-author and publish a paper with one of them. This is invaluable, because publication is vital for individuals who want to become professors. Establishing a publication record during graduate school makes job candidates more attractive when applying for tenure-track teaching positions.
Gain teaching experience
Working as a Teaching Assistant is among the most valuable extra-curricular experiences for an aspiring professor. TAs not only receive a wage, but they learn a great deal about teaching at the post-secondary level.
TA duties typically include the following:
• Grading papers and assignments
• Leading small discussion or lab sections of a class, which supplement the large lecture section conducted by professors
• Performing administrative tasks for the professor
• Holding office hours during which students can ask questions or request assistance on a one-on-one basis
The only negative aspect of being a TA is the time commitment. Individuals who take on the role must be prepared to dedicate themselves to the job without sacrificing their grades and academic pursuits.
Another way that future professors supplement their learning track is by teaching online classes.
Doctoral Degree
A Ph.D. is required for most full-time university faculty positions. Some doctoral programs allow students to pursue their Doctorate without first earning a Master’s Degree.
In addition to completing the required coursework, doctoral candidates choose a specialized topic for original research and write a dissertation exploring the results of their research before qualifying to receive their Ph.D. The final step to earning a Doctoral Degree is successfully defending one’s dissertation in front of a faculty committee. This process normally involves between four and six faculty members. Their role is to ask critical questions about the strength of the arguments presented in the dissertation and to offer other perspectives on the work.
The Job Market
Most academic candidates go on the job market in the last year of their program, when they are still ABD (all but dissertation), with the intention of having defended their dissertation and earned their Doctorate by the time the tenure-track jobs begin in the fall of the next academic year. Generally, these jobs have the title of Assistant Professor.
Tenure-track positions are not easy to come by. Therefore, more Ph.D. holders are taking limited term or contingent faculty positions. It is estimated that these non-tenure track jobs make up more than 70% of teaching positions in American universities. Some of these titles include Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Visiting Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Adjunct. Adjuncts are Ph.D. holders who are often kept on a part-time basis, so they do not receive health insurance or other benefits from the university. They are paid a per-course fee versus an annual salary. Because institutions are generally hesitant to grant adjuncts course loads that would make them full-time employees, many adjuncts are forced to teach at multiple schools in any given semester. The role provides very little job security.
There is another option that exists for aspiring professors who have just obtained their Doctorate Degree. Instead of diving immediately into the market for a long-term teaching job, they can apply for postdoctoral (postdoc) positions. A postdoc is someone who temporarily engages in ‘mentored research and/or scholarly training.’ Postdocs are employed on a short-term basis at a college or university to allow them to conduct additional research, get more of their findings published, and gain more teaching experience. All of these opportunities naturally lead to enhanced resumes.
Ongoing Research & Publication
While publications of independent research are often the key to finding a job as a full-time professor, they are also the pathway to maintaining prominent and career-long academic presence.
At most research universities, professors must continue to contribute to research in their field and publish scholarly articles. To compete for tenure-track teaching positions, they need to publish larger works and/or books.
How to become a Professor
The most common educational background for fulltime, tenure-track university professors includes a Doctoral Degree in their chosen field, teaching experience, professional certification, and prominent academic presence established through independent research and publications in scholarly journals.
It should be noted that the importance of the research component of the university professor’s academic path is continually growing. There was a time when tenure could be achieved with as little as two or three peer-reviewed articles. This is most definitely no longer the case. Educational institutions are increasingly seeking professors who have conducted fieldwork or clinical experiences and bring significant ground-breaking research to the faculty table.
The absolute minimum level of education for a professor is a Master’s Degree. This credential, however, generally qualifies an individual to teach at a community college and not at a full-fledged university. Some community colleges that consider hiring professors with only a Master’s may seek out those who are doctoral candidates.
Aspiring professors at both universities and colleges generally gain their initial teaching experience as a graduate teaching assistant while they are enrolled in a graduate program.
The rise of professional schools, in particular in the business and communications sectors, has created some demand for professors with practical experience and not necessarily with a Ph.D. and/or a resume that comprises independent research. These schools may also place a premium on professorial candidates who understand analytics and social media, who have launched their own business, or who have created a successful app.
how to become a professor uk
Professor (HE in the UK)
What is a Professor?
A professor is “a teacher of the highest rank in a department of a British university, or a teacher of high rank in an American university or college”, as defined by Cambridge Dictionary.
Job Description
Professors teach students aged 18+ at higher education institutions. Teaching usually takes place between 9am and 6pm although some Professors are also required to teach in the evenings. Professors divide their time between classroom hours and preparing for teaching or meeting students privately. The job also involves research activities including presenting research findings at conferences worldwide.
Professors are required to seek external funding for their research activities to enhance the prestige of their institution and to initiate research projects that involve connections with scholars at other institutions in the UK and overseas. They may also be involved in initiatives with public sector bodies and the private sector. Professors will be expected to take part in the strategic planning and decision making for their department. In many cases, their focus is on teaching postgraduates rather than teaching undergraduates. .
Duties
- Delivering large group lectures to between 20 and 200 students
- Delivering small group teaching to between 1 and 20 students
- Pastoral care of students
- One to one advice on particular pieces of work
- Course design
- Lecture/seminar planning
- Marking assessed work
- Keeping student records of achievement
- Attending planning meetings to ensure cross-departmental parity
- Leading research projects and managing research teams
- Presenting research at conferences
- Administration tasks (e.g. admissions tutor) within the department
Salary and Conditions
- Starting salary is usually c. £45,000 – £75,000 in the UK, although this is often based on individual merit and is achieved by negotiation with the employer.
- Most professorships are permanent positions.
- Most are full time, although part time posts and job shares are occasionally available.
- Permanent staff can opt into a final salary pension scheme (Teachers Pension Scheme).
- Sick pay allowance varies from institution to institution but is often more generous than the private sector.
- Maternity and paternity leave varies from institution to institution.
- Staff can join the UCU union.
Entry Criteria
Most Professors will have a PhD. They will have a very good bachelor’s degree with first or upper second-class honours. Some Professors have a separate masters degree, especially in the humanities fields. Very rarely a Professor with personal vocational experience will be taken on without a PhD.
Career Path
There are steady annual salary increments in most jobs. Some scholars remain at Professorship level for their entire career, while others go into management and may take on the role of Head of Department or Dean of School.
In order to improve their career, Professors are advised to produce internationally renowned research, publish their work in reputable journals and books, attend conferences, and be innovative in their teaching practice. But they will also need to take an active part in the management of their department and faculty.
Major employers
HE Professors are mostly employed in publicly funded universities or HE colleges. Oxford and Cambridge are the most prestigious, followed by research-based institutions such as the Russell Group. The post-1992 group of universities, which used to be Polytechnics, are also large employers of lecturers. There is one private university in the UK, based in Buckingham. Every large town or city in the UK now has its own university.