Academia – Page 3 – The Renegade Coder

Teaching at the collegiate level is a wonderful experience, but it's not always clear what's involved or how you get there. As a result, I figured I'd take a moment today to dump all my knowledge for folks who might want to know more. Who Is This Article For? A student of mine expressed interest in teaching, so this article is partially directed at them. However, there's a broader set of cohorts I'm targeting with this piece. First, this article is for anyone who is interested in teaching computer science at the university level. Currently, I am a lecturer in computer science, so I like to think my experience can help other folks achieve the same goal. I have also been an undergraduate teaching assistant as well as a graduate teaching assistant, and I hope to one day be a professor of practice. Second, this article is for anyone who is interested in teaching engineering at the university level. While my identity is very closely tied to computer science, my PhD is in engineering education. As a result, I am familiar with the engineering education landscape. Finally, this article is for anyone who is interested in teaching STEM at the university level. While I can't promise that my advice in this article will map directly to disciplines like physics and math, the general idea should be transferable. Types of Teaching Positions in Academia From the outside, it's hard to tell the difference between different types of educators in academia. Generally, students refer to their instructors as "professor," but this isn't always correct. In fact, there are a lot of different types of folks you might see at the front of a classroom. First, there are undergraduate teaching assistants, which might be called TAs or UTAs. A UTA is basically an undergraduate student who has been asked to provide some educational service for a course, whether that be grading, holding office hours, and/or running labs. Very rarely are undergrads allowed to run a classroom. However, I have seen undergrads run recitation sections, which are basically small classes meant for giving quizzes or reviewing course material. Then, there are graduate teaching assistants, which might be called GTAs. Like a UTA, a GTA is basically a graduate student who has been asked to provide some educational service for a course. However, the difference tends to be that GTAs are given a little more power. For example, a GTA might be able to grade graduate coursework. In addition, they might even be able to run a classroom, generate their own curriculum, and/or manage UTAs. When I was a GTA, I was the instructor of record for two different courses, which meant I was effectively a lecturer. Next, there are lecturers. Lecturers differ from UTAs and GTAs in that a lecturer is a full-time teacher hired by the university. Typically, GTAs and UTAs have restrictions on how many hours a week they can work, with the limit usually being no more than 30 hours/week. As a result, lecturers will have higher teaching loads. For example, as a GTA, I taught at most two classes a semester. Then, when I became a lecturer, I was expected to teach three classes a semester. However, teaching is my only job requirement. Finally, there are professors of practice (a.k.a. clinical faculty). In general, clinical faculty positions are in a gray area, but the idea is that they have "real-world" experience. In engineering, this typically would mean that a clinical faculty member has experience in industry. However, I don't believe that to be a requirement everywhere. Regardless, a professor of practice tends to have a less research focused role than traditional professors. That could mean they primarily teach, but it could also mean they serve their department in other ways. In general, this section is meant to highlight the different types of teaching positions at a university, but there are many different kinds of jobs. For example, there are adjunct professors, which typically refer to part-time teaching faculty who have a day job. There are also research professors who do not teach. Likewise, there are traditional tenure-track professors, who do a little bit of everything. However, the bulk of their work is research. As a result, you might not be surprised to find that a small handful of institutions offer tenure-track teaching professor positions, but these are currently extremely rare. Teaching Position Job Security The positions described above differ in a lot of ways, but perhaps the most important difference (at least to me) is job security. Naturally, every university is going to have different expectations around job security for each position, but here's my experience: Undergraduate TA: Semesterly Contracts Graduate TA: Annual Contracts Lecturers: Annual Contracts Professors of Practice: 3-5 Year Contracts In other words, in terms of job security, the longer contracts are going to be better. Naturally, there are other factors in job security, but contract length is going to be the baseline. Teaching Position Requirements Now, let's talk about what qualifications you need to get any of these jobs. For this section, I am going to speak partially from experience, but I also want to share what an actual job posting looks like. To start, if you want to be a UTA, you're going to have to be an undergraduate student. From there, you will probably need to enroll in the class you want to TA. This isn't always the case, but it makes onboarding a lot easier. It also makes applying a lot easier because your grade in the class will tell the hiring team if you're ready to grade. If you want to be a GTA, you need to be a graduate student. However, in my experience, GTAs are typically reserved for doctoral students and not master's students. The reason being that universities tend to fund doctoral degrees and not master's degrees. Of course, it's not unheard of to secure a GTA position as a master's student, but you don't have a ton of time to do it. After all, a master's degree is like two years max. Beyond that, there aren't typically many additional qualifications. The general belief in academia is that if you have the credentials (e.g., a STEM degree), then you can teach. It's not a belief I have personally, but it is how academia runs. If you want to be a lecturer, you're typically going to need at least a master's degree. For example, here are the requirements for a lecturer position in computing education: A minimum of a Master’s in computer science (education focused thesis), engineering education, or a closely related discipline-based education field. Excellence in verbal and written communication. Familiarity with backwards design; eagerness to adopt backwards design Familiarity with inclusive teaching practices; eagerness to adopt inclusive teaching practices Note that there is no requirement that you've actually taught before. However, I will say that having teaching experience is going to give you a huge leg up. If you want to be a professor of practice, you're typically going to need at least a doctorate. For example, here are the requirements for a professor of professional practice position in computing education: A Ph.D. in computer science (education focused thesis), engineering education, or a closely related discipline-based education field. Ph.D. must be completed by the time of appointment. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are required, with a focus on working constructively, decisively, and collegially with both external and internal colleagues and interdisciplinary teams. Demonstrated expertise in course design (using existing frameworks). Demonstrated expertise in inclusive teaching practices. Potential for engaging in scholarship in computer science education, computing education, engineering education research or similar fields. In this case, teaching experience is a requirement, but it isn't always. For example, here's another set of requirements for a professor of practice position in computer science and engineering: A Ph.D. in computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related computing field. Ph.D. must be completed by the time of appointment. Proven skills and experience in innovative software strategy, design, development, and launch. Evidence of teaching and/or mentoring teams (students or employees) in the computing field. Excellence in verbal and written communication. Excellent interpersonal skills when working with both external and internal colleagues or interdisciplinary teams. Demonstrated efforts in teaching, research, and/or outreach and engagement. Here, teaching can be proxied by mentoring, research, and outreach. I suspect that is typical of most academic positions, since teaching isn't always valued. Navigating the Road to a Teaching Position While I can't give recommendations for exactly how to make your way into a teaching position at a university, I can map out my path. To start, I completed an undergraduate degree in computer engineering. During my time as an undergrad, I had a variety of campus jobs through the work study program, but one of those jobs was as an undergraduate teaching assistant for an introduction to Java course. Later, I ended up in industry for a short time in the Edison Engineering Development Program at General Electric. There, I worked on camera systems and locomotive diagnostics. I also mentored some interns. Eventually, I left GE and ended up back at school in a doctoral program in computer science and engineering. As a part of that program, I was funded through a graduate teaching associateship. I started again by teaching an introduction to Java course as the instructor of record (i.e., my name was on the course). Within a year, I was poached for another course, which introduced software components. About two years in, I jumped ship to a different doctoral program in engineering education, where I took a year off from teaching to do research as a graduate research associate (GRA). Then, a year later, I found myself back in a GTA role. This time, I picked up two sections of a course each semester. At some point, I was asked to apply to be a lecturer, and I was also trained to teach yet another course. Once I secured the lecturer role, my teaching load bumped up from two to three classes a semester. As of today, I still teach three sections of the same course. Completing a Education-Focused Degree While the path to a teaching position at the university level is possible just by continuing in your field of interest (e.g., computer science, electrical engineering, etc.), it's not the only path. As it turns out, there are variety of education-focused degrees out there that serve an interdisciplinary purpose. For example, if you're in engineering, you can pursue a degree in engineering education. As far as I know, there are similar programs in math education, physics education, and STEM education more broadly. However, unlike engineering education, these other programs are often targeted at K-12. Regardless, I would recommend looking education-focused degrees because you'll be dramatically more prepared for the teaching role. I say this because graduate programs in "technical" fields tend not to train their students to teach, despite the fact that the majority of them are targeting professor roles. In contrast, education-focused degree programs are likely going to teach education theory as well as require you to complete some form of teaching practicum. With that said, even these education-focused degree programs don't necessarily see themselves as pipelines into education. Instead, they serve the same purpose most doctoral program serve: to produce researchers. As a results, I've found it challenging even in engineering education to promote the importance of teaching practice. However, I would still recommend them over traditional programs. Covering Other Questions You Might Have While I tried to be as thorough as possible, there are always going to be questions. To start, you might be wondering if you should get a master's degree on your way to a PhD, or you might not even know that a master's degree is optional. As it turns out, you can jump straight into a doctoral program right out of undergrad. The reason being that master's programs and PhD programs serve two different purposes (i.e., practice vs. theory, respectively). However, the world is very rarely so cut and dry. For example, if you go down the education-focused doctoral program road, then I would recommend getting a master's degree in your "technical" field as well. The reason being that education is just not respected, so having the master's degree will give you credibility in your field. It's usually pretty painless to do both at the same time because some of the credits can count for both degrees. After hearing about the professor of practice position, you might be wondering if you should get some real-world experience. I'm going to say yes for a couple of reasons. First, by definition, clinical faculty are faculty with real-world skills. Not all clinical faculty are going to have real-world experience, but it wouldn't hurt to have some. Second, your students will respect you a lot more if you have real-world experience—at least in fields like mine where most students go into industry. For example, there is a professor at my university who famously worked at Bell Labs. While their Rate My Professor scores aren't great, many of my students argue vehemently that the professor knows what they're talking about. Finally, I am going to recommend real-world experience, especially in engineering, because it just pays better. If you have loans like I did, it's not a bad idea to try to pay them down before you go back to school. Otherwise, any unsubsidized loans you take out will accrue interest during your degree, and your graduate stipend is not going to be enough to pay them down. One last thing you might be wondering about is how teaching positions differ from institution to institution. This is a tricky question because there are different kinds of institutions. My institution is what's known as an R1 institution, which basically means that its a major producer of researcher. However, not all institutions prioritize research. For example, smaller liberal arts colleges might prioritize the educational experience. As a result, if you have a teaching preference, I might recommend pursuing a job at an institution that aligns with your values. Best of Luck Out There In STEM, we're somewhat fortunate that our fields are respected. As a result, there is not a ton of concern around finding jobs and keeping them. That said, it's still challenging, and the current political climate seems like it's only going to get harder. For instance, I recently saw several folks complaining about the types of research that the government funds, so I fully expect research to be the next target of political attacks. Just take a look at this video by Hank Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfJUSehBMzk That said, I've never been a proponent of not following your dreams just because there might be some adversity. And like I tell my students, you're welcome to lean on me for support. Honestly, even if we've never met, feel free to reach out. I'm happy to try to help you think through your plans or direct you to someone who knows better. Otherwise, I have to call it a day here. I sort of free wrote this whole thing in one sitting, and I have to take my 9-month-old to the doctor in the morning to get shots. So, I hope you don't mind if I cut this one off here. Last thing I'll say is that I have a huge series of articles I started way back titled "Journey to a PhD." I haven't really kept up with it, but it has over 50 articles covering different aspects of my experience. As a result, here are a few I think you might like: Lessons Learned From Two Years of College Teaching I Passed My Qualifying Exam! I Am a PhD Candidate! All But Dissertation: The Light at the End of the Tunnel Likewise, you can support this site even further by heading over to my list of ways to grow the site. Otherwise, thanks for reading. I'll see you next time!