| Do you have a passion for studying a certain topic? Do you love talking with people about what you’ve learned? Do you love to read and write? Do you (even if you are embarrassed to admit) love to study?
Maybe you were born to be a professor. Professors study, write about, and teach their favorite subjects. They make a big impact on students, and often get to introduce young people to ideas they’ve never heard about!
Professors "profess" in different ways…:
Teaching: Professors teach college students. They teach several classes each semester. Sometimes they teach students who have never heard of the subject before! A professor might be a student’s introduction to psychology. Or sociology. Or maybe a new angle on American History. What a chance to make an impact!
Research: Professors do research about a specific area of their subject that they are really excited about! Their school provides them with some of the resources to dive into new angles of their area of interest. They get to explore what really excites and interests them!
Advising: Professors have lots of knowledge and experience to offer students. They help students choose what classes to take, figure out what they are best at, and work with them to plan for their future careers.
Building Community: Professors are involved in their school communities in many ways, often serving on committees, advising student clubs, and even playing intramural sports with their students!
Interview with a Professor: Meredy Goldberg Edelson
When Professor Edelson was young, she thought she was going to be a lawyer. “I visited a lawyer’s office and saw how much they had to read. I didn’t want to read that much!”
She didn’t know at that point she would end up choosing to be a college psychology professor, reading and studying for a living!
“In college, I thought I’d be a speech pathologist.” But once she took a psychology course, she loved it and took more and more psychology classes.
She still wasn’t quite sure what type of psychology work she wanted to do, so she studied clinical psychology, helping people and working with children.
After college, graduate school, and an internship, she began work at Willamette University, where she teaches and does research. “I discovered there is just as much reading as being a lawyer!”
Professor Edelson teaches several courses, including Introduction to Psychology: “Most of the students have never had a psychology course before!” She also partners with other professors to teach students throughout the college as a way to introduce students to a wide variety of ideas. She advises 35 students in her psychology department.
Professor Edelson does research about children and ways to help them with their difficulties, such as autism or behavioral challenges. She is the head of the committee that reviews any research done at the University, to be sure the research is fair and helpful.
As if that wasn’t exciting enough, Professor Edelson also works helping children in her community one day a week.
For students thinking about becoming a professor, she advises “Be open minded! There are lots of viewpoints expressed in a classroom.” What an exciting environment to work in!
What
You Can Do to Get Ready:
Follow your passion! As professors teach every subject you can imagine, identify what you love to learn about. Volunteer in your field. Be sure to practice your reading and writing skills! Getting experience teaching and being comfortable in front of people is also helpful.
After getting your college degree, you can apply to a number of different graduate schools and do research to get a PhD.
What
it Pays:
Pay ranges vary by school and how long you’ve been teaching at a school. New professors are usually assistant professors and make around $55,000. After receiving a promotion called tenure, you can become a full professor and earn around $90,000.
Other
Resources:
American Association of University Professors: aaup.org Information for any type of professor.
Chronicle of Higher Education: chronicle.com: Lots of news and job information on college and university careers.
American Association of University Women: aauw.org: Supports education for women and girls
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