3 answers
Kira
Student
Christiansburg, Virginia
2
Questions
Asked
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Whether I should go to a better college to be able to teach at a university?
I've been told that I might have better luck getting a teaching position at a school like Virginia Tech (where I live) if I go to a school like Harvard. However, I want to teach English/History which is not Virginia Tech's focus at all, it being an engineering and agriculture school. Do I still need to go to a prestigious/"better" school to get a good job teaching?
#teaching #professor #college-selection
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3 answers
Elishah Franckiewicz
Teacher, Writer, Instructional Designer
10
Answers
Sacramento, California
Updated
Elishah’s Answer
Hi Kira,
I completely agree with M. A. Rafe’s Answer to your question and can add a bit more since you've just started looking into a college-level teaching career.
A master's degree will allow you to teach at community colleges or the first two years of university education. Your GPA and solid evaluations and recommendations of your work as a teaching assistant while earning your master's are more important than where you earned your degree. Is an ivy league education impressive? Sure it is! Is the payoff worth the cost? Not when it comes to higher education.
I went to a community college, transferred to a state school, and ended up being hired to teach there after graduation. For over twenty years and multiple states, I've been hired at every college I've applied to based on my GPA, teaching experience, and recommendations.
Now, I need to be honest with you about something I wish I had known when I decided to teach college English twenty-plus years ago. The likelihood of getting a full-time, position at a community college is astonishingly low, and impossible at a college/university. You have slightly better chances with a Ph.D. but not by much. Academia is a business, and when five or more adjuncts can be hired for the same amount of money it costs to pay a single tenured instructor's salary, it's little wonder why adjuncts represent the majority of higher education instructors.
More than 75% of college instructors (from community colleges to top universities) are adjuncts, meaning they are hired as part-time instructors limited to a certain number of classes each term so that the school doesn't have to pay benefits. Typically that means only five classes for an entire school year that runs on a quarter system. Most adjuncts have second jobs or teach at multiple colleges to make ends meet. Many take on temporary summer jobs too.
I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. Adjuncts are not paid a salary. Rather, they are paid per class (the national average is around $3,500), not the amount of time actually spent preparing and grading. Most make less money than grade school teachers who are often not required to have master's degrees, and that's working at multiple colleges. Though, to be fair, public school teachers have to deal with far more than college instructors do.
There are significant benefits to teaching at the college level. For one, it's largely autonomous. Once instructors prove themselves, they often have the freedom to design their own classes based on set outcomes. They also set classroom etiquette guidelines, which means they can tell a disruptive student to leave and never come back. Most jobs don't have that level of freedom.
It can be a lonely profession too as needing to rush off to teach at another college (I taught at three in two different states when I lived in the Pacific Northwest and drove more than one hundred miles some days) means there is little time to chat with peers. But the nature of academia, at least as far as teaching goes, also eliminates any semblance of an office environment. I have never related to sitcoms based on office situations, and I think that's a good thing.
It's also personally rewarding. Community college students represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds, so every class is new and different. Instructors also have the rare opportunity to help change the trajectory of people's lives for the better. Seeing an uncertain, insecure student evolve into a self-confident, determined being is overwhelmingly beautiful.
Time permitting, adjuncts can also be involved in clubs and school-sponsored community events so that they can help nurture others within a particular interest. And they're mostly all adults, so that offers yet another layer of freedom. These are volunteer positions, of course, but they can be incredibly rewarding.
I don't want to scare you away from pursuing a career in higher education. My goal here is to provide insights and encourage more research.
Best of luck to you!
E.F.
I completely agree with M. A. Rafe’s Answer to your question and can add a bit more since you've just started looking into a college-level teaching career.
A master's degree will allow you to teach at community colleges or the first two years of university education. Your GPA and solid evaluations and recommendations of your work as a teaching assistant while earning your master's are more important than where you earned your degree. Is an ivy league education impressive? Sure it is! Is the payoff worth the cost? Not when it comes to higher education.
I went to a community college, transferred to a state school, and ended up being hired to teach there after graduation. For over twenty years and multiple states, I've been hired at every college I've applied to based on my GPA, teaching experience, and recommendations.
Now, I need to be honest with you about something I wish I had known when I decided to teach college English twenty-plus years ago. The likelihood of getting a full-time, position at a community college is astonishingly low, and impossible at a college/university. You have slightly better chances with a Ph.D. but not by much. Academia is a business, and when five or more adjuncts can be hired for the same amount of money it costs to pay a single tenured instructor's salary, it's little wonder why adjuncts represent the majority of higher education instructors.
More than 75% of college instructors (from community colleges to top universities) are adjuncts, meaning they are hired as part-time instructors limited to a certain number of classes each term so that the school doesn't have to pay benefits. Typically that means only five classes for an entire school year that runs on a quarter system. Most adjuncts have second jobs or teach at multiple colleges to make ends meet. Many take on temporary summer jobs too.
I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. Adjuncts are not paid a salary. Rather, they are paid per class (the national average is around $3,500), not the amount of time actually spent preparing and grading. Most make less money than grade school teachers who are often not required to have master's degrees, and that's working at multiple colleges. Though, to be fair, public school teachers have to deal with far more than college instructors do.
There are significant benefits to teaching at the college level. For one, it's largely autonomous. Once instructors prove themselves, they often have the freedom to design their own classes based on set outcomes. They also set classroom etiquette guidelines, which means they can tell a disruptive student to leave and never come back. Most jobs don't have that level of freedom.
It can be a lonely profession too as needing to rush off to teach at another college (I taught at three in two different states when I lived in the Pacific Northwest and drove more than one hundred miles some days) means there is little time to chat with peers. But the nature of academia, at least as far as teaching goes, also eliminates any semblance of an office environment. I have never related to sitcoms based on office situations, and I think that's a good thing.
It's also personally rewarding. Community college students represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds, so every class is new and different. Instructors also have the rare opportunity to help change the trajectory of people's lives for the better. Seeing an uncertain, insecure student evolve into a self-confident, determined being is overwhelmingly beautiful.
Time permitting, adjuncts can also be involved in clubs and school-sponsored community events so that they can help nurture others within a particular interest. And they're mostly all adults, so that offers yet another layer of freedom. These are volunteer positions, of course, but they can be incredibly rewarding.
I don't want to scare you away from pursuing a career in higher education. My goal here is to provide insights and encourage more research.
Best of luck to you!
E.F.
M. A. Rafe Biswas
Associate Professor at University of Texas at Tyler
21
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
M. A. Rafe’s Answer
I don't think the quality of the university matters as much as the quality of teaching and student feedback you get. If you are highly respected for your teaching by fellow faculty and student alike, then you can mention it in your resume and perhaps include some data/sample in your portfolio. Thus starting as a teaching assistant is valuable whether you are undergraduate or graduate student to build your experience in a liberal arts or community college rather than other institutions. From what I know, typically you need to have at least a Masters degree to teach at a university before you can apply to a position. A university or community college have positions like part-time or adjunct lecturer, full time lecturer or Assistant Professor that defer based on expected qualifications and other relevant experiences. I hope that helps.
That does help - thank you! Would you suggest I start at a community college or as an assistant professor while still in grad school or wait until I leave?
Kira
Well typically they don't hire you as an Assistant Professor until you get a PhD. To teach at a community college, I believe you must complete at least a Masters degree unless you are teaching English as second language courses, which required only a Bachelors. I would recommend to be a TA while in grad school to gain teaching experience. I would also talk to your faculty advisor on figure out better options for you.
M. A. Rafe Biswas
Thank you for your answers! I've only just started thinking about teaching, so any information is helpful.
Kira
Elishah Franckiewicz
Teacher, Writer, Instructional Designer
10
Answers
Sacramento, California
Updated
Elishah’s Answer
Hi Kira,
I completely agree with M. A. Rafe’s Answer to your question and can add a bit more since you've just started looking into a college-level teaching career.
A master's degree will allow you to teach at community colleges or the first two years of university education. Your GPA and solid evaluations and recommendations of your work as a teaching assistant while earning your master's are more important than where you earned your degree. Is an ivy league education impressive? Sure it is! Is the payoff worth the cost? Absolutely not.
I went to a community college, transferred to a state school, and ended up being hired to teach there after graduation. I've been hired to teach at every college I've applied to over the past twenty years and multiple states based on my GPA, teaching experiences, and active participation within departments.
Now, I need to be honest with you about something I wish I had known when I decided to teach college English twenty-plus years ago. The likelihood of getting a full-time, position at a community college is astonishingly low, and impossible at a college/university. You have slightly better chances with a Ph.D. but not by much. Academia is a business, and when five or more adjuncts can be hired for the same amount of money it costs to pay a single tenured instructor's salary, it's little wonder why adjuncts represent the majority of higher education instructors.
More than 75% of college instructors (from community colleges to top universities) are adjuncts, meaning they are hired as part-time instructors limited to a certain number of classes each term so that the school doesn't have to pay benefits. Typically that means only five classes for an entire school year that runs on a quarter system. Most adjuncts have second jobs or teach at multiple colleges to make ends meet. Many take on temporary summer jobs too.
I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. Adjuncts are not paid a salary. Rather, they are paid per class (the national average is around $3,500), not the amount of time actually spent preparing and grading. Most make less money than grade school teachers who are often not required to have master's degrees, and that's working at multiple colleges. Though, to be fair, public school teachers have to deal with far more than college instructors do.
There are significant benefits to teaching at the college level. For one, it's largely autonomous. Once instructors prove themselves, they often have the freedom to design their own classes based on set outcomes. They also set classroom etiquette guidelines, which means they can tell a disruptive student to leave and never come back. Most jobs don't have that level of freedom.
It can be a lonely profession too as needing to rush off to teach at another college (I taught at three in two different states when I lived in the Pacific Northwest and drove more than one hundred miles some days) means there is little time to chat with peers. But the nature of academia, at least as far as teaching goes, also eliminates any semblance of an office environment. I have never related to sitcoms based on office situations, and I think that's a good thing.
It's also personally rewarding. Community college students represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds, so every class is new and different. Instructors also have the rare opportunity to help change the trajectory of people's lives for the better. Seeing an uncertain, insecure student evolve into a self-confident, determined being is overwhelmingly beautiful.
Time permitting, adjuncts can also be involved in clubs and school-sponsored community events so that they can help nurture others within a particular interest. And they're mostly all adults, so that offers yet another layer of freedom. These are volunteer positions, of course, but they can be incredibly rewarding.
This answer is probably not what you expected, but I hope it offers you helpful insights and encourages more research.
Best of luck to you!
E.F.
I completely agree with M. A. Rafe’s Answer to your question and can add a bit more since you've just started looking into a college-level teaching career.
A master's degree will allow you to teach at community colleges or the first two years of university education. Your GPA and solid evaluations and recommendations of your work as a teaching assistant while earning your master's are more important than where you earned your degree. Is an ivy league education impressive? Sure it is! Is the payoff worth the cost? Absolutely not.
I went to a community college, transferred to a state school, and ended up being hired to teach there after graduation. I've been hired to teach at every college I've applied to over the past twenty years and multiple states based on my GPA, teaching experiences, and active participation within departments.
Now, I need to be honest with you about something I wish I had known when I decided to teach college English twenty-plus years ago. The likelihood of getting a full-time, position at a community college is astonishingly low, and impossible at a college/university. You have slightly better chances with a Ph.D. but not by much. Academia is a business, and when five or more adjuncts can be hired for the same amount of money it costs to pay a single tenured instructor's salary, it's little wonder why adjuncts represent the majority of higher education instructors.
More than 75% of college instructors (from community colleges to top universities) are adjuncts, meaning they are hired as part-time instructors limited to a certain number of classes each term so that the school doesn't have to pay benefits. Typically that means only five classes for an entire school year that runs on a quarter system. Most adjuncts have second jobs or teach at multiple colleges to make ends meet. Many take on temporary summer jobs too.
I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. Adjuncts are not paid a salary. Rather, they are paid per class (the national average is around $3,500), not the amount of time actually spent preparing and grading. Most make less money than grade school teachers who are often not required to have master's degrees, and that's working at multiple colleges. Though, to be fair, public school teachers have to deal with far more than college instructors do.
There are significant benefits to teaching at the college level. For one, it's largely autonomous. Once instructors prove themselves, they often have the freedom to design their own classes based on set outcomes. They also set classroom etiquette guidelines, which means they can tell a disruptive student to leave and never come back. Most jobs don't have that level of freedom.
It can be a lonely profession too as needing to rush off to teach at another college (I taught at three in two different states when I lived in the Pacific Northwest and drove more than one hundred miles some days) means there is little time to chat with peers. But the nature of academia, at least as far as teaching goes, also eliminates any semblance of an office environment. I have never related to sitcoms based on office situations, and I think that's a good thing.
It's also personally rewarding. Community college students represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds, so every class is new and different. Instructors also have the rare opportunity to help change the trajectory of people's lives for the better. Seeing an uncertain, insecure student evolve into a self-confident, determined being is overwhelmingly beautiful.
Time permitting, adjuncts can also be involved in clubs and school-sponsored community events so that they can help nurture others within a particular interest. And they're mostly all adults, so that offers yet another layer of freedom. These are volunteer positions, of course, but they can be incredibly rewarding.
This answer is probably not what you expected, but I hope it offers you helpful insights and encourages more research.
Best of luck to you!
E.F.