How to become a teacher at a university: education, working conditions, experience

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The teaching profession in the university remains controversial. Someone considers it prestigious and respected, while someone is scared away by the low salaries of educators. Let's take a closer look at the working conditions of those who give knowledge to students. We will also learn how to become a university teacher.

Education

This is the very first point that beginners come across. To become a teacher at a university, you must have a diploma of higher education. At the same time, you need to be at least a specialist or a master.

Bachelor's hiring will be the exception to the rule. This is possible only if you have practical experience in your speci alty.

Possessing a completed graduate degree is a great advantage for those who are interested in becoming a senior lecturer at a university. Such a specialist can take part in various competitions for filling the positions of researchers.

If the teacher has defended his thesis and received a degree, he can applyfor the vacancy of associate professor or professor.

He who became a teacher at a university should not regret his choice. Therefore, you need to collect as much information as possible about your future profession in advance.

Personal qualities

When wondering how to become a teacher at a university, it is important to understand that this profession is not suitable for everyone. A future specialist to work with students will need a whole set of not only professional, but also personal characteristics.

The first thing you need to become a teacher at a university is stress resistance. What is behind this concept? I must say that stress resistance is required in many vacancies. The professional teacher is no exception. This specialist must perfectly control his own emotions and remain calm in any situation. After all, different situations can arise in the classrooms. The teacher must remain calm and respectful of the students.

Professional qualities

When wondering how to become a teacher at a university, you need to understand that this specialist must be competent in his subject. What does this mean? To give knowledge to others, you need to be well versed in the subject yourself.

A teacher who is thoroughly oriented in the subject earns respect from his own students and eventually becomes an authority for them.

That's why it's important not only to become a teacher at a university, but to remain one throughout your career. In order not to lose credibility, you need to constantlyimprove. Follow new trends in your own field, try to present information in an interesting way and give students relevant knowledge. To do this, you need to devote a serious amount of time to preparing for student lectures and seminars. All this takes time and effort.

It is also important to be able to organize students' independent work. After all, after graduating from an educational institution, they will become independent, and a teacher who can be asked any question will not be around.

Besides this, a university teacher should be well aware of state educational standards.

Another thing about professionalism is speech. A university teacher must speak correctly, categorically avoiding parasitic words. In addition, do not try to pass for one in the company of students, using youth slang or jargon. It will cause nothing but ridicule. It is better to become a role model, rather than trying to be like yesterday's student who himself recently graduated and barely understands the subject, but at the same time tries to teach others.

When you are interested in how to become a teacher at a university, be prepared for the fact that you will constantly need to learn new things.

Working conditions

The Labor Code defines for teachers the maximum number of working hours per week - no more than thirty-six. The teaching load for a university teacher can be a maximum of nine hundred hours during the year. You can reduce it by increasing the number of hours for scientific work.

In addition, if we again refer to the Labor Code, university teachers are en titled to a vacation of fifty-six calendar days.

Load

As mentioned above, the total annual workload for a university teacher should not exceed nine hundred hours. This means that you will have to spend an average of two to four pairs daily.

However, you need to understand that paid hours free from couples are not the personal time of the teacher. It is allocated for preparing for lectures, writing notes and manuals, checking independent work, etc. As you understand, the work of a teacher at a university is not limited to conducting educational lectures for students.

In addition, there is an obligation to compile a complete methodological set, which includes documents that must comply with generally accepted standards.

Complete methodological kits compiled by the teacher are checked by commissions several times during the academic year. If deficiencies are found, the work will have to be corrected. In addition, the regular change in generally accepted standards makes it necessary to redo the complete methodological sets, because some subjects become obsolete and are excluded from the curriculum, while others, on the contrary, appear. For a university teacher, this means that the work on compiling a complete methodological set must be started from the beginning.

Career Ladder

Now you know how to become a teacher ininstitute. It remains to figure out what awaits in the future for those who start a career in education.

• teacher;
• assistant;
• senior teacher;
• docent;
• professor.

Teacher

This is the first step. For this position, those who have a master's degree or a specialist are accepted. Therefore, now you know how to become a teacher at a university without graduate school. The most difficult thing is to break into a university vacancy for those who have a bachelor's degree. As a rule, such candidates are accepted only as a replacement for the main teacher in practical classes. However, for some, this loophole can be a start. This is also true for those who are interested in how to become a teacher at a medical school. In the future, it will be possible to get a master's degree or even become a graduate student to continue your career and get more attractive prospects.

Assistant

The next step for the teacher. This position is occupied by those who have not only a diploma, but also practical teaching experience for one year. Also, the vacancy is available to those who have completed graduate school. Work experience in this case does not matter. A graduate student may not have one at all, and this will not prevent him from applying for the position of assistant. The duties of this officer are to conduct seminars, consultations and practical exercises. In addition, the assistant helps assistant professors and professors to take exams from students.

Senior teacher

This position combines the duties of the previous one, and also obliges to give lectures, prepare teaching aids for students. There is only one requirement for this position: a potential candidate for the position of senior lecturer must have a PhD degree or have at least three years of teaching experience.

Associate Professor

The higher the position, the more duties it is assigned to the teacher of the university. Associate professor in addition to pedagogical activity must necessarily conduct scientific work. To apply for a vacancy, you need to be a candidate of science, as well as have scientific publications, participate in conferences. If you work in this position for five years, you can get the academic title of associate professor.

Professor

To apply for this position, you need to be a doctor of science, as well as work as a teacher for five years. Also, the applicant must prepare graduate students and applicants, publish textbooks, scientific articles, etc. It is worth noting that in the presence of an academic title of associate professor or professor, teaching experience does not matter. Both applicants can take part in the competition for filling a vacant position. Such events are held every five years. An associate professor can become the head of a department, and a professor can become a dean of a faculty or a university rector.

Experience

Teaching at the university is included in the teaching experience. This is an important nuance that gives employees some bonuses.

Teaching experience is accrued only with officialemployment in an educational institution. After twenty-five years of experience, a teacher is en titled to a preferential pension.

Features

A university teacher is perhaps the most responsible activity in comparison with colleagues. That is why proper preparation is needed. At a minimum, you must have a master's or specialist's degree. For bachelors, the path to the education system will be much longer. And there is absolutely no chance for those who do not have a higher education.

However, to advance in your career, you will need to enroll in graduate school, get a degree. Otherwise, the maximum position that can be held is an assistant.

Often, former graduates who have earned a good reputation during their studies become teachers of the university. That is why it is worth starting to think about building a future career from the very first years of the student bench.