To become a college professor, a master’s degree is required, and a PhD or other terminal degree is often necessary. Good grades, standardized tests, and teaching experience can help in graduate school. Teaching careers often start as associates or adjunct professors, and tenure can take years to achieve.
Starting a teaching career means committing to the school years. At a minimum, a college professor will require a master’s degree, and most of the time, a higher degree in your chosen field is required to obtain the professorship. It is usually a PhD, Doctor of Philosophy, but it could be another terminal degree such as the MD or the JD, Juris Doctorate. Once people have completed these higher degrees in their profession, they can start looking for jobs as teachers.
Thus, the path to a teaching career begins with a four-year or undergraduate degree, and students should plan to earn very good grades in undergraduate courses and have a high GPA overall. Most Ph. Just before graduation, students can also take some standardized tests. In the US, for example, medical students take the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) and many other students take the GRE or graduate exam. There are general and subject-oriented GRE tests, and some students are required to take both, although this depends on the graduate school’s requirements.
As graduate school can be competitive, it also helps to start getting recognized. It is not uncommon for upper division students to work on publishing or presenting papers at conferences. This would show any university that a student is already gaining competence and knowledge and will be able to continue this course into graduation. Also, attending conferences can mean working closely with current professors, which can result in glowing recommendations for graduate school.
At the graduate level, students can expect to spend at least three years studying, and realistically it takes many students about five years to complete a doctoral program. Here, an opportunity often available to students is teaching or working in teaching assistance programs. Students are advised to take advantage of this opportunity as it helps to gather teaching experience, which can be listed on a resume for those desiring a teaching career. Teaching positions usually come with some form of pay, an added bonus that can reduce student loans and reduce amounts owed after graduation.
Some students begin their teaching careers in graduate school. With excellent performance in school, it is sometimes possible to be offered a job. Others will need to look elsewhere, but they can certainly be helped by letters of references that attest to their skills and a growing list of publications in the field.
What won’t happen for most graduates is getting an immediate job that offers stability. Most students get a job as an associate, or maybe even have to work as an adjunct professor. A lot depends on how competitive the field is, the area the person lives in, and the economic status of each available school.
If people are looking for a teaching career that results in tenure, essentially a guarantee of employment, it is best to at least look for junior or associate teaching jobs. To gain ownership, people need to be strong teachers, and they also need to continue to publish; even with these skills, it can take years to gain ownership. It is sometimes easier to get a tenure at junior or community colleges because there is less emphasis on publishing, but that only means teaching courses equivalent to the first two years of college instruction.
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