Science professors teach at colleges and universities, with pay varying by experience. They may specialize in biology, chemistry, or physics and teach a range of topics. Graduate students often teach undergraduate classes, and guest speakers may be hired for short-term contracts.
Science professors are academics who teach at colleges and higher education institutions. Major universities recruit people to fill multiple science teaching jobs in a single department. Pay scales for professors vary widely by experience, although some are technically students rather than university employees.
Scholars with backgrounds in biology, chemistry, physics, and other sciences often fill science teacher jobs in which they are required to conduct fieldwork and lead classroom sessions. Biological scientists study living organisms, although each professor may focus on a particular animal, plant, or species. Chemists study elements and chemical reactions, while physicists study matter and space. At major universities, science professors typically teach about one topic, but at community colleges and other types of higher learning establishments, a professor may be required to teach classes that cover a broader range of basic science topics.
In some nations like the United States, most undergraduate students are required to take at least a few science classes. Teachers who teach broad topics like biology may have to teach non-college students how to earn science degrees. People who teach more specific topics like marine biology can only teach students taking biological sciences, since students have successfully passed several other general science topics before enrolling in these more specialized classes.
Some universities have science teaching jobs for academics who spend most of their time conducting research in the lab or off-campus locations. Researchers include biological scientists tasked with identifying diseases and chemists trying to develop new drugs. These researchers typically teach classes for graduate students, and class members are often required to take an active role in the professor’s research. In many cases, research faculty write textbooks and study guides that are used by students at the college they are employed at and by students elsewhere.
At many colleges, graduate students in science are responsible for teaching classes for undergraduate students. These individuals may deliver lectures or lead seminars and group discussions. Postgraduate students typically receive a scholarship or free tuition and accommodation in exchange for tuition. Using graduate students as professors can allow colleges to reduce costs by eliminating paid science professor jobs. Upon graduation, graduate students are sometimes hired by the university and move into conventional professorship roles, although graduate students often exceed the number of available positions.
Most universities employ only a limited number of permanent lecturers. Guest speakers, specialists in specific topics, often work on short-term contracts at several different faculties throughout the year. These professors are often tasked with leading a single class or conducting a series of seminars on a specific topic. In some cases, it costs less for a college to hire a series of freelance guest professors than it does to fill full-time science teaching jobs.
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