Interested in teaching college

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

Professors

MEMBERS

2 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

College Professors Chatboard

Interested in teaching college

by Jeff

Jun 8, 2009

When I first chose my major (psychology) I planned to get a Ph.D. and become a professor and researcher. After researching the job market, and life, I've ended up a high school special ed/social studies teacher (I love it, but don't see me spending the next 20 years or more as a high school teacher in a special ed or social studies classroom). Looking at graduate school options, I'm more and more becoming interested in teaching at the college level again.

I love teaching and now I think I'd prefer the community college or liberal arts college atmosphere because I want to be a teacher first and researcher second.

However, pay can be a problem. Looking at local community colleges, their pay scale is similar to that for public school teachers. By the time I have my doctorate in education I will have about a decade of teaching experience.

If I do my MA and doctorate in psychology or history I would assume I'd start at the beginning of the scale and get no credit ...See More

Comment

(6)

report post

view previous comments

Kate Jeff,

Have you looked into applying for a TA position in history or Psych? they don't pay well, but they carry a waiver so you would not be paying tuition.

Academia right now is a tough nut to crack...even major research universities are using more instructors and adjuncts instead of tenure track faculty. Being a public school te...See More

Jun 8, 2009

report post

bernoulli On 6/08/09, Jeff wrote: > Re-reading my post I think I should clarify a few things. I > don't know why I even mentioned history or psychology. While > I'd love to get a doctorate in either and teach those at the > college level- it isn't going to happen. I am turning 39 > this summer, I can't afford 4-6 years going to school full- &g...See MoreOn 6/08/09, Jeff wrote: > Re-reading my post I think I should clarify a few things. I > don't know why I even mentioned history or psychology. While > I'd love to get a doctorate in either and teach those at the > college level- it isn't going to happen. I am turning 39 > this summer, I can't afford 4-6 years going to school full- > time with no income. A Ph.D. in these fields at a school > worth considering (especially with a goal of teaching at the > college level) will only be full-time. If I do this, it will > be a part-time masters with the modified goal of teaching at > a community college part-time on the side. > > The only realistic option I'm considering is a doctorate in > education. Even many good schools, like Johns Hopkins (my > first choice), allow part-time study for a Ph.D. in education > (and nearly all of them allow part-time study for an Ed.D if > they offer an Ed.D.). Many of these education doctorial > programs would be part-time during the year and full-time > during the summer to allow teachers to remain in the > classroom. From there I would hope to become an education > professor (I hope to specialize in reading or special ed, > more specifically I want to do research primarily in > dyslexia). Ideally, I'd do my Ph.D. in educational > psychology if I can find a good program that allows teachers > to go part-time. > > > On 6/08/09, Jeff wrote: >> When I first chose my major (psychology) I planned to get >> a Ph.D. and become a professor and researcher. After >> researching the job market, and life, I've ended up a high >> school special ed/social studies teacher (I love it, but >> don't see me spending the next 20 years or more as a high >> school teacher in a special ed or social studies >> classroom). Looking at graduate school options, I'm more >> and more becoming interested in teaching at the college >> level again. >> >> I love teaching and now I think I'd prefer the community >> college or liberal arts college atmosphere because I want >> to be a teacher first and researcher second. >> >> However, pay can be a problem. Looking at local community >> colleges, their pay scale is similar to that for public >> school teachers. By the time I have my doctorate in >> education I will have about a decade of teaching >> experience. >> >> If I do my MA and doctorate in psychology or history I >> would assume I'd start at the beginning of the scale and >> get no credit towards salary for my high school teaching >> experience. However, if I get my doctorate in education I >> was wondering how that works. Many education faculty have >> elementary and high school teaching experience, sometimes >> quite a few years of experience. Do they usually get >> credit on the salary scale for their teaching experience >> (since it is related to their academic area) since so many >> have extensive teaching experience, or do they have to >> start from scratch when they become a professor? >> >> I ask, since I probably won't be able to afford a large >> pay cut and I want to know what the standard is for these >> things before I start (i.e. if I'll be starting in the >> $40's or worse, upper $30s, I may was well pursue a >> different direction). I know each college will probably >> have its own policies, but I assume there is a general >> standard to how most schools handle this situation.

If you got your Ph.D or Ed.D and found a tenure track position, you would most likely start at the bottom of the ladder. Beginning salary is not that great, but you eventually do OK. You have to consider this a long-term strategy. At my university it seems to take ten years to become a tenured full professor.

In my state the state university is replacing retiring faculty with lecturers to save money. This makes it tough for the remaining full-time faculty to cover all the roles in the department. However, if the economy ever turns around and the state budget improves, then there will be a lot of hiring to fill tenure track positions.

If you want to teach at the college level and break the lecturer low-salary barrier, then get your doctorate at a reputable school and see if you can find a niche to fill.

Good luck. IMHO it is worth it.

Jun 8, 2009

report post

rw I don't think it usually counts, but check with people in the field.

And you might be starting in the low to mid 30's too...

But I've taught elementary and college, and college is MUCH MUCH easier. It's worth the paycut

Jun 10, 2009

report post

Jeff Thanks for the replies so far.

I am aware that most colleges and universities rely very heavily on part-time and non-tenure track instructors. It has been this way for quite some time, and this was part of why I initially gave up on the idea of becoming a professor. I went back to college at 25, I didn't like the idea of spending 5 or 6 ye...See More

Jun 19, 2009

report post

bernoulli On 6/19/09, Jeff wrote: > Thanks for the replies so far. > > I am aware that most colleges and universities rely very > heavily on part-time and non-tenure track instructors. It has > been this way for quite some time, and this was part of why I > initially gave up on the idea of becoming a professor. I went > back to college a...See MoreOn 6/19/09, Jeff wrote: > Thanks for the replies so far. > > I am aware that most colleges and universities rely very > heavily on part-time and non-tenure track instructors. It has > been this way for quite some time, and this was part of why I > initially gave up on the idea of becoming a professor. I went > back to college at 25, I didn't like the idea of spending 5 or > 6 years to get a Ph.D. in psychology and then have a job > without stability or benefits when I would finish in my > mid-30s. Now that I have a career and I'll be in my mid-40s by > the time I get my doctorate I really don't want to have to do that. > > So, here is a new question. After I get my masters I will try > to get a part-time position teaching in a local community > college or four-year college (with a masters I figure the > community college would be much more realistic). By the time I > get my doctorate I should have just over a decade teaching in > the public schools (if I try to become an education professor > that will be work experience in the field I intend to teach) > plus five or six years teaching part-time in a community > college. With the part-time college teaching experience would > I likely be able to skip the time as adjunct or as a non-tenure > track instructor, or will most universities and colleges want > to see that experience with them and full-time? Also, would > the part-time experience be counted at all towards any salary > determination? I know I would start at the bottom level when > it comes to rank (assistant professor), but most positions have > a pay range for people in that position. With the teaching and > part-time college experience would I probably still start at > the bottom salary tier for the ranking or would I have a chance > at being placed higher on the salary range for the position of > assistant professor? I have no illusions that I would start at > a higher level ranking, but at least I would hope that some of > this closely related experience would help my placement on the > salary scale.

I have taught at three different institutions and I don't think there is any one practice on how to count years of experience and level of education for pay purposes. Where I am now it seems to be based on highest degree.

Here if you do start tenure track and you have some good teaching experience already, they will knock up to two years off of the tenure process.

Right now our state is in melt down. No telling what lecturer and tenured positions will be available next year yet!

Jun 19, 2009

report post