<p>I've always wanted to be a college professor, but I always loathed the idea of teaching high school or even middle or elementary school. Are there prerequisites? If not, what can I do to get money in the course of my PhD and what experience can I have?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Usually PhDs are fully funded by the university and you do not have to teach HS to become a professor.</p>
<p>Good! Well, what about masters? If my dream is to teach philosophy, I would major in philosophy, right? Well, what can I do not be poor until then?</p>
<p>I am somewhat confused on the actual process needed to become a professor. I’d like to clear answer on that too please.</p>
<p>You definitely don’t need to. What you do need is a doctorate (or sometimes, you can get a professorship at a community college with a masters degree). Teaching high school (or substitute teaching) isn’t an uncommon choice while finishing off other degrees.
That said, many grad students work on campus at major universities, teaching lower division courses or helping with grading/tutoring/research instead.</p>
<p>Uh, you don’t have to ever teach high school or middle school in order to become a professor. Usually grad students are funded with a stipend and in exchange they TA or teach college classes, and that’s how they get teaching experience.</p>
<p>TheJuanSoto, here are the steps:</p>
<p>1) attend a college or university with an excellent philosophy program and major in philosophy, pouring time into your academic work so that you are at or near the top of your class. Forge close relationships with the smartest faculty in the department–you will need their mentoring. Do a senior honors project or other independent research to gauge your ability to handle grad school. Lots of good students fall apart outside of a structured class situation, but if you can’t organize and pursue your own research with minimal supervision, you’re not going to survive in grad school. </p>
<p>Make sure you have a good language background, tailored to your interests. For instance, somebody interested in classical philosophy will have to know Ancient Greek and Latin. Somebody interested in contemporary Continental philosophy will have to know French and German. Most grad programs list their language requirements on their websites.</p>
<p>2) apply to, and be accepted by, one of the top philosophy PhD programs. If you are accepted at one of these programs, you will probably get a fellowship that covers your tuition and some or all of your expenses. In some years, you will be teaching undergraduates in return for your fellowship. If you don’t get a fellowship, then don’t go.</p>
<p>Here are the challenges:</p>
<p>1) This is not an easy road academically. </p>
<p>2) The job market for PhDs in philosophy is abysmal. There are very few entry-level jobs for philosophy professors. Even those driven, talented, and lucky enough to get one will most likely have to make serious sacrifices along the way–for instance, you will likely have NO choice over where you live or over what kind of institution you teach at. While tenured/tenure-track humanities professors at research institutions and elite LACs make a good living, these positions are very scarce and competitive. A lot of humanities teaching nowadays is being shifted onto adjuncts who are paid very poorly for their work, often receiving no health insurance or job security. </p>
<p>Attending a less-selective graduate program will probably mean that you never get an academic job. Attending a top program, but having to borrow a lot of money to go there, is a terrible idea given that less than 50% of those who start PhD programs complete them within ten years, and of those many do not achieve their goal of academic employment. Make sure you understand the odds before you commit yourself to graduate school.</p>
<p>If you really, really want to do this and are very good at it, then go for it (I did, in another humanities field, despite all the naysaying and have had a successful and rewarding career doing something I love.) But in risk terms, it’s more like becoming an actor or a musician than becoming, say, an accountant or an engineer.</p>
<p>sweet im goin to become an english professor teaching college is where its at son</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks a lot everyone. So helpful of you. I’ll think about it more now. </p>
<p>My other choice was being a lawyer (another choice with a small job market), so I am okay with risks. I’ll just do my best and study a lot!</p>
<p>I very strongly second getting very familiar with what it takes to get a job as a philosophy prof and what it’s likely to pay. Even for very top students, ever getting a tenured position at a school they want to work for is incredibly tough. This isn’t like being a lawyer trying to get a good job. This is truly a needle in a haystack proposition.</p>
<p>A couple I know got PhDs from a top ivy. To get teaching jobs they had to accept living apart. She’s in Iowa and he’s in Wisconsin. These are not places either wanted to live. It’s nuts.</p>
<p>Well the philosophy thing was just one of the things I am interested in. Maybe I will find another passion? English and any major that has to do with books, letters, history or anthropology is okay with me.</p>
<p>Just no science or math :D</p>
<p>hey i hear ya thejuansoto!</p>