How do you seek work as a college professor?
Posted by admin on 8 Oct 2008 8:24 pm. Filed under Higher Education (University +).
paintgirl asked:
I will be going back to school in the fall for my Masters in Fine Art. I would like to teach at the college level when I’m finished. I know plenty of professors who have enough professional experience to begin teaching with only a Bachelor’s degree. I have worked in my field for over 10 years. How do you seek a professor job? It’s not as if those types of jobs are posted. Would you contact the college directly and send a resume? Is there a place where these types of things are advertised? Can I start teaching while studying for my Masters?
I will be going back to school in the fall for my Masters in Fine Art. I would like to teach at the college level when I’m finished. I know plenty of professors who have enough professional experience to begin teaching with only a Bachelor’s degree. I have worked in my field for over 10 years. How do you seek a professor job? It’s not as if those types of jobs are posted. Would you contact the college directly and send a resume? Is there a place where these types of things are advertised? Can I start teaching while studying for my Masters?
4 Comments to “How do you seek work as a college professor?”
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On October 9th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Talk to the placement office in the University you will be attending. Find out from a FA professor there or at your present college where teaching jobs are advertised.
One place they are is the Chronicle of Higher Education. You can set up a search engine on the CHE site.
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On October 10th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Gain experience by doing student teaching, usually through labs . When you have your masters you then apply for the positions you’re looking for. You should be willing to relocate as positions tend to be competitive. Good luck!
On October 10th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
check the job listings on the Chronicle of Higher ed:. You can also read the forum on there, which might give you insight into the application process. They also have good job resources on the site, including resume/CV advice, etc.
I’m curious in what field you’ve known professors who teach with only a BA. In most fields (humanities, social sciences, etc), there’s such a glut of PhD’s that there are literally hundreds of applicants for every tenure-track position. It’s still possible to teach in some fields (such as creative writing and fine art) with an MFA, and some community colleges will hire profs with just an MA. But in general, you need the doctorate, and even that is no guarantee.
On October 13th, 2008 at 8:57 am
It is rare for a professor to not have the terminal degree (which is MFA in studio areas) and be able to get anything other than adjunct work. They might get hired for temp positions, but they usually aren’t officially qualified for most tenure-track positions since they don’t have the appropriate academic degree(s).
Yes, the teaching jobs are posted. The Chronicle of Higher Education or College Arts Association are two excellent places to find job listings. They are very explicit about your application packet and what should be included in it.
Most schools do national/international searches for tenure-track positions. Contacting them directly without having an ad to respond to might get you a temporary job teaching a class or two, but not likely anything more. For a national search, the competition will vary dramatically. In some areas (drawing/painting/sculpture) there may be hundreds of applicants so honestly the search committee is looking for excuses to narrow down the pool of really qualified people. That’s why your credentials and your presentation of them are critical. One typo and you are out of the running in a competitive field.
While getting your MFA, see if you can get a position as a teaching assistant. That’s where most studio faculty get their initial teaching experience. If you have great experience in the field but the school isn’t offering you a position as a TA, are you sure you aren’t over-estimating your credentials at the moment? Or maybe they have a large graduate class and if so, others have already been selected for the TA positions. You might be able to get a position teaching a class at a nearby community college while doing your masters degree.
Good luck. Teaching is great most of the time. But you sound like you’ll need to spend some time with your major professor and other faculty because you are definitely not up to speed about the realities of what you want to do and how to make it happen. That’s not meant as a slam, but it will be very important for you so ask alot of questions and listen carefully to the advice of the people you wish to emulate.