The assistant professor fills the shoes of a junior faculty member in a University or an equivalent educational institution. The title might appear to be a submissive one, however, in the academic context it is the initial step of becoming a professor. The position implies a full-time entry-level faculty employment. The fresh Ph.D. graduates are entitled to this positon.
Educational qualification is very important to grab the Assistant Professor Job. In this regard, let us understand what the education requirements for an assistant Professor are:
Graduation: To be an assistant professor, a student must first complete his graduation degree that is a bachelor of science or arts. If someone is dreaming of teaching in a particular university, he or she should maintain an above average grade throughout his education.
Post-Graduation: The second step after successful completion of a bachelor’s degree is to opt for a post-graduation with a specialization in the subject he or she wishes to teach in future. This area of specialty is closely related to the undergraduate majors of the student. Post completion of the master’s degree after two years, the student will be eligible for the Ph.D. program.
Doctoral: The individual needs to be a subject matter expert. This is the reason why he or she needs to enroll for a doctoral degree. A Ph.D. program takes about 3 to 4 years of time. This increases the credibility of the student to become an assistant professor. The doctoral degree requires extensive research, meticulous study and completion of a dissertation project successfully. You will also be eligible after post-graduation; however, you need to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET).
The extras: The additional skills and qualifications to fit in the shoes of the assistant faculty position include impeccable presentation skills, analytical mind frame, goal oriented and adherence to a discipline that involves consistent research. Candidates need to have training and experience in teaching. Aspirants should be flexible to relocate as there is a lack of good professors in many places.
Tasks and Responsibilities of an Assistant Professor
The job of an assistant professor, as some might feel, is not limited to sitting and giving lectures, enjoying tons of benefits and vacation in return. It involves a hard work, rigorous study, and practice. The tasks of an assistant professor are full of challenges and rewards. The following duties are performed by an assistant professor:
- Performing Research: This is an integral part of an assistant professor to be a subject matter expert in their field of teaching. Research continues to be a part of your career even if you grow to be a professor someday. The maturity of the research will depend on how much grip you have on the subject and what you need to know. The procedure of the research will depend on which aspect of your subject you want to discover more. For instance, a professor in English will mainly go through various manuscripts and archived materials.
- Documenting and Recording: After completing the research on a particular study area, the job of an assistant professor needs to keep an account of all the important observations and findings properly documented in the form of a well-cultivated article. The article will be then published in a relevant format in a proper journal meeting all the requirements of the publication.
- Publishing scholarly articles: According to the requirements of the educational institute, to be the confirmed faculty, an assistant professor needs to publish somewhere around 15 to 30 articles in different relevant journals. It takes a considerable amount of time, say about 5 years to get an article published. Thus, a standard of excellence needs to be maintained to construct a proper article.
- Preparing teaching materials: Designing their own syllabus according to their status of teaching is an essential task of an assistant professor. She needs to decide which books to follow, the lab settings, the learning materials to provide comprehensive knowledge in an organized manner.
- Giving Lectures: An assistant professor needs to possess good oratory skills to engage the students in his lectures. This is the most important part of the responsibilities of an assistant professor. The lecture should be easy to comprehend and put in simple words so that the crux of the matter gets across to the students well.
A blend of innovative research, independent teaching initiatives and the ability to involve in various supervisory functions marks the career of an assistant professor. The job brings an intellectual fulfillment when the right amount of dedication and hard work is put in.
Author’s Bio: Agniva Banerjee is a writer by profession. She likes curating informative articles and blogs on diverse areas that provides a good read. She loves engaging the readers through her words and welcomes feedback of all sorts.