<p>DeepSeekPhd, the life sciences and engineering (STEM) programs care most about research dollars and publications, not teaching. Sakky is telling the truth. I witnessed this firsthand when I was an undergraduate taking an engineering course.</p>
<p>You can't compare the humanities with the STEM programs. Two entirely different fields, especially how they receive funding and manage publications.</p>
<p>
[quote]
RacinReaver, you have encountered the TA's who were foreign students and hence had great difficulty in speaking English and hence are extremely difficult to understand. I certainly have. {Note, since they are foreigners, it's not their fault that they can't speak English well, but at the same time, you can't be a good teacher in a US university if you cannot speak English well enough to be understood. It's not fair, but that's how it is.} Yet a lot of them got job placement in US universities.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Actually, CMU had a great way to combat this problem. They required all international professors to take a US localization course where they learned US sayings and had to pass an English proficiency exam prior to being allowed to teach (I had two professors from England that actually complained they were also required to take the course!). I never had a problem with any of the professors I took any classes with, even though some were from India, Denmark, Poland, various Asian countries, and a few others I don't remember. Maybe CMU was just a fantastic school and apparently has some of the best teaching in STEM fields out there or something.</p>
<p>Also, I don't think anyone here is denying that it's impossible to become a tenured professor while being a terrible teacher, but it certainly won't help you get a position if you've never had any experience teaching. It's like how you're always talking about how some schools offer more widely marketable degrees than others. If you could get a more marketable degree (TAing once or twice) with a little extra effort, then why not take advantage of the opportunity?</p>
<p>I'd like to point out that the OP is not in a STEM field. I'd also like to point out hat I mentioned ages ago that STEM fields are somewhat less competitive than humanities fields, and that will affect the level of teaching. I'll also add that there are a lot of different types of colleges and universities out there. An R1 professor in a STEM field may very well get away with poorer teaching. That only accounts for a minority of institutions in the country. At teaching-centered schools, which constitute the vast majority of positions, it matters very much, no matter what the field.</p>