Being a professor?

LightBulb · #1 08-01-2006, 10:18 PM

I'm a history major, but I don't know what to do with it yet (and I'm a senior!). I've been thinking about getting my graduate degree in a related field (women's studies, political science, international studies..?) and perhaps even my doctorate.

My question is, is anyone out there a college professor? What's it like? Thanks!

carnation · #2 08-01-2006, 10:58 PM

I love it but the pay is pretty low because I teach out of my original field so I have to supplement it on the side. I love the college-aged group and not having to deal with discipline or psycho parents or taking up lunch money or doing bus duty.

You can make a good living, especially at a state college.

tinydancer · #3 08-02-2006, 12:06 AM

I did some part-time college teaching when I was working on my doctorate. I enjoyed it a lot. Teaching in graduate school, I liked the fact that the students WANTED to be there. I'd like to do it again, but unfortunately the closest library schools are in Denton, a 45 minute drive away. With gas as high as it is, they'd have to pay me enough to make it worth my while.

Greekopedia · #4 08-02-2006, 01:48 AM

History professors are RARE. I am sure you will be doing well. Some professors at UF make upwards of $200,000 a year!

LightBulb · #5 08-02-2006, 03:40 AM

Wow, thanks for all the replies so far!

Carnation, what is your original field?

Dancer, did you study library science? My lil sis is considering that (she's an English major)!

Greeko, I'm not sure which way you meant with the RARE. Did you mean that history professors are a dime a dozen and so professor position openings are rare, or that a lot of schools really need history professors? Thanks for your help!

carnation · #6 08-02-2006, 08:29 AM

My 3 degrees are in horticulture but I also had heavy coursework in Spanish and I'm teaching that now. I would say to definitely ask your professors and others away from your schools in which fields professors are needed. You can always get grad degrees in other fields to strengthen your employability; you don't want to get in a situation where there are hardly any jobs in your specialty and you end up being one of those Ph.D.'s who has to drive a truck! Or the only jobs you can find are in srange, far-flung places.

I don't know about the rarity of history professors but there's an oversupply of history teachers around here. A lot of the coaches get history degrees and guess who's always going to get the job first if you and a coach are competing for it.

kddani · #7 08-02-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greekopedia

History professors are RARE. I am sure you will be doing well. Some professors at UF make upwards of $200,000 a year!

I would be surprised if history professors were rare by any standards. History is a popular subject area.

Some professors may make that much, but then went a long time getting paid peanuts. Associate professors and adjunct professors make crap for pay. Full professors can do okay, but it takes along time to get there.

DSTCHAOS · #8 08-02-2006, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LightBulb

My question is, is anyone out there a college professor? What's it like? Thanks!

I love working in academia because of my passion for my field and because I'm not a 9-5 type person.

I don't know about professors with master's degrees but a new PhD can start out at 60K depending on what institution you work at and/or how many publications you have on your curriculum vitae. Again, this all depends on your field and what type of institution you are applying to (i.e. research I vs. liberal arts/teaching gig).

You will need to talk to people in your field of interest and also figure out what type of institution you would want to teach at. This will give you a better idea of the pay (although if you're that concerned with $$, you may be in the wrong occupation anyway) and the professoral quality of life.

Better yet, some graduate programs offer teaching assistantships that give students the opportunity to build their teaching portfolio. This will allow you to figure out if college teaching is your cup of tea. Also, consider teaching at community colleges or your own university over the summer. The more experience, the better your ability to make the decision.

DSTCHAOS · #9 08-02-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greekopedia

History professors are RARE. I am sure you will be doing well. Some professors at UF make upwards of $200,000 a year!

History professors are not rare.

Making up to and over 100K as a professor is usually a result of being a tenured professor with many years of experience and/or being in an endowed position with the department/university.

KSigkid · #10 08-02-2006, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greekopedia

History professors are RARE. I am sure you will be doing well. Some professors at UF make upwards of $200,000 a year!

Really? Boston U. had quite a few history professors, and schools like UCLA have big departments. I'd guess that it's one of the more common subjects, with larger departments (especially since it is a pre-req at many places).

From what I've heard, being a professor can be a long and not so lucrative profession, especially when you first start. You basically have to wait until you get tenure, and even then it can heavily depend on your outside work (writing, research, etc.).

Definitely make sure it is the right career path, though. Good professors can make quite a difference on campus, and bad professors can make just as much of one.

DSTCHAOS · #11 08-02-2006, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Really? Boston U. had quite a few history professors, and schools like UCLA have big departments. I'd guess that it's one of the more common subjects, with larger departments (especially since it is a pre-req at many places).

From what I've heard, being a professor can be a long and not so lucrative profession, especially when you first start. You basically have to wait until you get tenure, and even then it can heavily depend on your outside work (writing, research, etc.).

If you want to do it though, be sure you want to do it. Good professors can make quite a difference on campus.

Correct. People generally don't go into academia because they are money-hungry.

If academics are money-hungry, they tend to go to private research organizations, government entities, and so forth. Not teaching.

tinydancer · #12 08-06-2006, 04:54 PM

I have a MLS and a Ph.D. in Library Science. I spent my whole career as a school librarian, with several semesters as an adjunct prof. at Texas Woman's Univ. and Univ. of North Texas.

Public schools don't pay squat for a doctorate, though. I got a whopping $600 a year extra for it.

Scandia · #13 08-06-2006, 05:48 PM

Tinydancer- did you find your PhD worth it for non-teaching library positions?

I am applying for the Specialist Degree, and have pondered getting a doctorate in the future.

DSTCHAOS · #14 08-06-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinydancer

Public schools don't pay squat for a doctorate, though.

That depends on 1) the doctorate, 2) whether the public institution is research 1 or liberal arts, and 3) how in demand the candidate is which determines the recruitment package.

ThetaDancer · #15 08-07-2006, 11:51 AM

I just graduated with a history major in June. Last winter, I applied to, and was accepted into, several history graduate programs, with the intention of one day hopefully becoming a professor. The one thing that led me to end up deciding on a different field for graduate school was that my advisor (the head of our history department) told me that positions in history are very very rare right now. The ratio is something like 500+ applicants for every one opening...and that's one opening at all, not even tenure-track or necessarily in your field or desired location. Definitely something to keep in mind...Hope this can provide you with some insight. Feel free to PM me if you'd like any more information!