Thread: Professor Jobs?

Originally Posted by Brock

Summary Question: Are professor jobs likely for someone with a M.A. in History right out of college?

So, I have been trying to "research" the likelihood of getting a professor job after I get my M.A., and I am starting to wonder, is it even possible. It seems like a lot of people become adjunct professors, and their average salary is kind of...scary. I am double majoring in History & Dietetics (or Nutrition, not sure which atm), but the main reason I want a major in History is I love it, and want to teach it, but I hope to teach at somewhere besides public schools.

I went through the public school system and I do not know if I could be a teacher. The kids where dis-respectful, pay is lousy, and above all, you can't stop a student from disrupting class, except for sending him to the principal, which is just going to add to his "rep" because apparently getting sent to the principal is a good indicator of how tough you are.

Sorry for the rant, but I am terrified I will get this degree, then my M.A. and end up working in a completely different job.

If you are in the USA; Your best bet is getting a PhD. as it is the standard for University professor. And marying a jewish if you are not one all ready will get your foot in the door. But don't expect tenure. In the USA Master degrees are a dime a dozen. Schools pump them out at an alarming rate and the standards for post graduate degrees are nerfed more and more each year so that universites can make more money. People even pose as educated Masters via online colleges. And actualy succed in using it to get jobs.

If you want real job security in teaching, and instant tenure, work for the grade school public education system in the USA. It is like another sub-culture with it's own rules and with the union they can't fire you or make you abide by any policy. Hell the real criminal justice departments can't even touch you unless you commit a crime off school property on your own time.

Also, decent pay way few hours than a real job (something like 4 to 6 hours a day and 8 months a year) which allows you to do hobbies, take long vacations, and get a part time job for side money all at the same time. And, it gives a ton of vaction and sick pay and days off. And, you are ression proof and will get pay raises every year no matter the condition of the State budget. Plus, no accountability and you can do whatever you want and treat the kids anyway you want once you get automatic tenure after 90 days or a year (depending on your school district). And small class sizes of 11 to 14 (way less than college classes). And you get Aids or Assists to joke around with if one of the kids has a special education plan. However, the only problem with public school employment in the USA is it lacks challange, and you may get bored and want to realy contribute to society, or even go abroad and see different cultures and worlds. But the best part is you will be working with other adults who who are all about getting even more time off and making more money.

Just avoid working public schools in other countries it is a total challange because you will have standards to meet, and you will be held accountable, and the pay sucks, and you will have way longer hours and will be forced to do real work.

Good luck, hope you can get a real job.

Community college is about the only level of college that teaches history. Check out cultural anthorpology, it involves more thinking and intelligence than history and is more diverse in the realm of PhD and you can branch out with more options. But with degrees like this, you can't apply it directly to a real money making job. However, if you sell yourself right and have the right experience top back it up, you could very well end up in a corporate investment firm making big fat money. But if living in a school environment all your life is your goal, it will be hard to get any job as a professor, as professors are the ones from the expensive universities like the Ivey Leagues. I've had them all, from princeton, harvard, yale, etc... State college educated professors, not so many, and none with tenure. So if you are going to State College, it is unlikely you will ever get into a Professor job in State college unless you are the crem of the top, and have extensive research experience and are known in your field as one to bring in grant money via research.

Nevertheless, people work backasswords on choosing a degree and a job.
They need to set an ultimate goal, and work back to set sub goals on a time line of what they want to acheive, and they need to make it realistic. Because life is not like public school. It ain't about atomatically going to the next level once you finish highschool.
Life goals involve more than the school environment and living in a school. gong from one grade to the next. There are may factors in life and it will impact you more than that few hours you put into a job.

If you set your goals from now and work to get into school, you have failed in setting up a goal. Because, What then? there is more to life than a J.O.B. You need to set a ultimate goal of what you want to be, where you want to be, and understand what it takes each step of the way, and what contingency play you have at each step when and if the sub goal can't be acheived. As life is about learnign by experience and that means you will likely fail at some point, and what you have as a backup plan. Remember, keeping it realistic, and knowing how you compare to the competition will also better your knowlege of what you can acheive. Remember woking on a goal will sometimes change and is an ongoing process that will change.

Originally Posted by Clint Torres

Community college is about the only level of college that teaches history. Check out cultural anthorpology, it involves more thinking and intelligence than history and is more diverse in the realm of PhD and you can branch out with more options. But with degrees like this, you can't apply it directly to a real money making job. However, if you sell yourself right and have the right experience top back it up, you could very well end up in a corporate investment firm making big fat money. But if living in a school environment all your life is your goal, it will be hard to get any job as a professor, as professors are the ones from the expensive universities like the Ivey Leagues. I've had them all, from princeton, harvard, yale, etc... State college educated professors, not so many, and none with tenure. So if you are going to State College, it is unlikely you will ever get into a Professor job in State college unless you are the crem of the top, and have extensive research experience and are known in your field as one to bring in grant money via research.

Nevertheless, people work backasswords on choosing a degree and a job.
They need to set an ultimate goal, and work back to set sub goals on a time line of what they want to acheive, and they need to make it realistic. Because life is not like public school. It ain't about atomatically going to the next level once you finish highschool.
Life goals involve more than the school environment and living in a school. gong from one grade to the next. There are may factors in life and it will impact you more than that few hours you put into a job.

If you set your goals from now and work to get into school, you have failed in setting up a goal. Because, What then? there is more to life than a J.O.B. You need to set a ultimate goal of what you want to be, where you want to be, and understand what it takes each step of the way, and what contingency play you have at each step when and if the sub goal can't be acheived. As life is about learnign by experience and that means you will likely fail at some point, and what you have as a backup plan. Remember, keeping it realistic, and knowing how you compare to the competition will also better your knowlege of what you can acheive. Remember woking on a goal will sometimes change and is an ongoing process that will change.

That's a very broad and snobbish statement. Anthropology and History both have their place......and both are equally poor when it comes to employment. Investment banking firms don't seek our anthropology majors, they seek how high achieving Ivy league grads, regardless of major. That said, Math, Economics, Finance, and probably Engineering will give you a better shot at Finance jobs than anthropology.