This article explains who a community college professor is, how to become a community college professor, the benefits, and how much they earn. So read on.
Over the years, the traditional four years bachelor’s degree program has been the order of the day. Students do not feel the need to obtain any degree that is not a bachelor’s degree equivalent. However, the recent turn of events has altered this thought.
The huge difference between the fees paid by community colleges and universities has made students reconsider their position.
Followed by the massive upgrade in the quality of services provided by these community colleges has made students start to lean gradually towards community colleges and the associate Degree they offer.
This U-turn has made community college professors more useful than ever.
Who Are Community College Professors?
Community college professors are the academic staff of a two-year junior college or trade school. They are usually in charge of preparing students to obtain their associate degree or any other related credential.
These professors are more or less seen as instructors saddled with the role of creating lesson plans, teaching students, and writing assignments. They also assist students who plan to attend university or a job shortly after finishing their education.
How To Become A Community College Professor
Becoming a community college professor is quite a similar process to every other post-graduate program.
However, this entails that you have a certain level of educational requirements and working experience. Although the steps may vary from place to place, let’s look at the most common one.
Steps to becoming a community college professor include;
- Get your bachelor’s Degree
- Get your master’s Degree
- Acquire working/teaching experience
- Start teaching at a community college
Get Your Bachelor’s Degree
For students who intend to become a community college professors, the first step is to get a bachelor’s degree. The student should have a bachelor’s degree in a course in line with what they intend to lecture in the community college.
For example, a student who wants to become a physics professor in a community college will have to major in physics or any physics-related course.
This prepares the aspiring Community College professors for the task they have decided to embark on. Bachelor’s Degree is an essential requirement for any community college professor aspirant. This program will usually take about four years to complete.
Read this: Most Useless Degrees you won’t even believe
Get Your Master’s Degree
Various individuals are familiar or conversant that you need more than a master’s degree to become a professor. This trend is usually propagated and mostly seen in four years or university programs.
However, the master’s Degree has been seen to be sufficient enough if you intend to be a community college professor.
Students who intend to become professors should obtain a master’s degree in the program they intend to teach. For example, a student who wants to become a physics professor will have to obtain a master of arts in physics with a community college teaching emphasis.
This will eventually make the aspiring professor be able to teach physics both physically on campus and online.
The Master’s Degree program takes about two years to complete and is a basic requirement in your quest to be a community college professor.
Acquire Teaching/Working Experience/Certification
Many community colleges will often demand that their teachers have experience in the field before being given a job. In courses such as health care, you are expected to have hands-on experience before you can teach this course.
Furthermore, some certifications may stand as a requirement to obtain a position in a community college.
For instance, some community colleges will insist that you should become a CPA (certified public accountant) before you teach accounting by obtaining the certification.
These two terms, experience and accreditation, help bring about a better College Professor.
Start teaching at a community college
Often, you cannot simply just directly become a community college professor. It usually implies that you take taking part-time classes as many schools are in the business of taking part-time teachers.
After being a part-time teacher for a while, you can then decide to apply to become a full-time teacher, which then sets you up to become a community college professor.
Read this: How many credits to graduate College (Best tips)
Community College Professor In The Labor Market
The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) looked at the salaries of Community College Professors in 2019. According to reports, the average community college lecturer earns between $80,000 and $90,000 per year.
This, however, was only recorded for full-time employment. Other teachers, especially part-time, may be paid according to the number of classes they teach.
Furthermore, it was also projected that there would be a rise in the demand for community college professors. This projection is possible due to the foreseen shift to community colleges by students.
The BLS has projected that this demand for community college professors will increase by 9% by 2029. With the issue of covid19, there is also a high demand for online community college professors.
Conclusion
Professors have the task of creating lesson plans and assignments for courses that they are found to be teaching and should be well poised to help students academically.
However, they must be updated on the current developments in their field to provide students with updated information even while they are teaching.
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