(Rough draft of my professional discourse paper)
There are quite a few questions that are asked of you when you are a small child. Many of these questions are important and usually easily answered, but there is one question that can shape your future and may alter the way you challenge life’s many obstacles. Before this life changing question is revealed, lets flashback to when I first heard the question. It was fifteen years ago in a public school classroom not much different from the classrooms I attend in college; Students, eager to learn new material, and a teacher willing to give the students any and all valuable information so they can succeed. However, having information and knowing where to use it, is two different things. So now, this is where the question asked of many school children comes into play. "What do you want to be when you grow up?” Since that day I was asked that question, I have answered with a variety of responses: President of the U.S.A, Archaeologist, a poet, a rapper, etc. Now, I am nineteen years old, a freshman in college and I have been asked the same question. Surprisingly, the career that I have chosen is something that I never dreamed that I would want to do or had thought about doing. My indecisiveness has only allowed me to narrow my career down to a college professor; I am not completely sure what post-secondary subject I would like to teach at the moment, so this essay will include information regarding college professors as a whole. I hope that the reader will learn as much as I did from my research and interviews within this manuscript and will understand the importance of fully knowing, "What you want to be when you grow up."
People decide to work in a particular field for a variety of reasons. It may be because it is a financially appealing career or it may be a line of work that runs in the family. There is no better way to understand the field that you want to choose then to fully research every intricate detail. Within the specific field of a college professor there are some key reasons for a person becoming one and of course there are reasons to discourage a person from being one. To begin with, many post-secondary teachers find the environment intellectually stimulating and rewarding because they are surrounded by others who enjoy the subject that they teach. A college professor has flexible schedules and the majority of the time chooses when they work and where. Much like college students they are responsible for getting work done (grading papers, attending meetings, other activities) but, there is no set amount of devotion that is required. College professors are able to participate in many non-academic activities due to this rigorous, but unrestricted environment. [bls.gov] This is the dream of an individual; Working and making money doing what you love around people who love the same thing. Skimming the surface of this career it seems like the right choice for anyone that would like to teach. However, the journey to get to this point is a long one and even when this idea of "love what you teach, teach what you love" is achieved; there are still complications as I mentioned earlier. Being a College professor makes it harder for personal research to be done amid the grading of papers, creating homework and classroom assignments and answering large amounts of e-mail. What I have learned through writing my essay is that the work of a teacher can sometimes impede the important research and studies that can further a professor’s career. A large part of a professor’s workload and career (especially professors within a four-year university) involves extensive research within their field of study and publishing essays and books recording their findings. Along with a regular school schedule, this requires a self- motivated attitude that many people may not possess. With these Pros and Cons of being a professor, I have found that there is a difference between two year university professors and four year professors. This leads into the topic of qualifications and what comes along with certain levels of degrees.
In order to really grasp the extent of the challenging qualifications, I ventured into many sources. However, one excerpt from the Bureau of Labor Statistics caught my eye. “Postsecondary teachers should communicate and relate well with students, enjoy working with them, and be able to motivate them. They should have inquiring and analytical minds and a strong desire to pursue and disseminate knowledge. In addition, they must be self-motivated and able to work in an environment in which they receive little direct supervision”.(bls.com) I felt this was an important qualification, because even though degrees and published books and papers look good on a resume, there is more than just the material aspects. Professors must show that they can actually teach and retain students. This means that a professor must focus on students’ learning styles and cater to students that need help in any way possible. That is the type of professor that I strive to be, however, I have found that the teaching aspect of a professor is only found depending on your place of work. Professors that work at 2 year colleges spend their full-time teaching and preparing classes on the other hand Professors at four year colleges spend the majority of their time doing research and publishing their works. (http://www.ehow.com). So the question in my mind is whether I would like to spend my time conducting research or spending my time teaching? Choosing the demanding teaching or research components of being a professor is vital but, there is one piece of the puzzle that must be discussed. This puzzle piece is the monetary gain that is received as a College professor.
Though most Professors do not go into the field of teaching for the money there is a range amount that professors can make. According to the Bureau of labor statistics, the middle 50 percent of professors make $41,600-$83,960(BLS). The average amount that professors earn depending on degree levels varies according to the BLS.
I did an interesting interview of a college Professor that confirmed some of my research and opened my eyes to the life and path of a college professor. My interviewee had attended five different colleges and has earned seven different degrees. I recognized that each of her degrees had been obtained at a variety of colleges. She stated like my current English professor had said before, that it is better to spread your degrees among different colleges. I have exclaimed to many people that I would like to finish my schooling after six years, but my interviewee obtained her doctorate after eight. She has said in the past that she enjoys learning, that is why she has gone back to obtain more degrees. She also told me about one of the challenges of becoming a professor that I did not learn from doing my research; that is the loss of family time and the loss of personal activities. She felt that one of the cons to teaching was the idea that she could not “save them all” and the fact that many of her students wanted/want good grades, but do not work hard to obtain them. She has published a paper involving Oxford University and a Round table Symposium on diversity. When asked about the amount of money she personally made (a question I made optional) she said this: “Sorry, we cannot discuss salary. However, money does not keep me in the teaching profession. Therefore, it must be the reward of knowing that I have impacted some child's life as he or she continues on life's journey.” I was pleased to hear that my interviewee felt so strongly about her career choice, that money was not a factor. This inspired me and enabled me to list something else under the Pros of being a teacher.
My journey to research my career choice taught me quite a few things about the person that I strive to be. My research has raised quite a few questions about how many degrees I would like to obtain, how long I want to be in school, whether I want to spend my career researching my subject or whether I want to spend it teaching. This past week I have uncovered the hardships of attempting to become a professor: The strain on family and friend relationships, the vigorous schooling, and if I choose to be at a PhD level, the pressure of publishing relevant works to further my career. I have also discovered the competitiveness of the job market regarding professors, so I understand that I must work my hardest in my undergraduate studies to stay in the academic race. This journey to being a college professor has already begun and I intend to use this newfound information to help me succeed in this ever going adventure of education.
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