become a college professor

I realized recently that I’d love to be an academic advisor in my department.

I had a really hard time as an undergrad with an advisor/professor who pushed me and whined that I wasn’t going to graduate in four years, if I didn’t take summer courses.

I hated that woman, and I graduated in four and a half years because they miscalculated my credits. Not my fault. Grrr.

And I wish that I had double-majored. I wish that I had a supportive advisor who would’ve encouraged me that this would’ve been a great idea. I realize I was just going through the motions, and I seriously regret that.

Hindsight kind of hurts.

If I can help even one terrified freshman feel a little more secure in this academic maze, that’d be awesome.

I’m in my last two classes starting in January, and I’m going to inquire about what it takes to apply for the position once I graduate in May.

I’m considering a career change, from Church Administrator to College Professor. I already have a Master’s Degree and I’m not interested in getting another one if it’s not needed. Therefore, I’m looking at perhaps a Ph.D or Ed.D, so I can use it to teach college students.

I love teaching and I want to be a professor. I know that I have a lot to offer to my students. I really love to watch students learn and grow.

I completed my Bachelor of Business Administration degree 9 years ago. After working as a department administrator and accountant in various academic departments at the University of Michigan, I realized that the world of business is not where my heart lies. I want to teach ancient history to college students, Egyptology especially. I will be entering the masters in History program at Eastern Michigan University in Fall, 1999. In order to get into the program, I need 20 undergraduate history credits and I only had 3 credits after finishing my bachelors degree. Now I am taking history courses at my local community college to get those 20 credits. I look forward to grad school, and doubly look forward to teaching!

I want to be a history professor. I suppose I ought to get through undergraduate school first though;). Working on that (I’m a sophomore).

In elementary school I was thought to be mentally disabled.
Then in high school I was told that I’d never get into college.
Next I was told I was most likely not be able to get into grad school.
Now I’m finishing my PhD and I just got offered my advisors job because she is retiring.
I accepted but now I wander if I am smart enough. My husband says I am. He’s a professor too.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who discovered that she was an academic at heart. She loved learning and sharing what she learned. She loved being surrounded by books. She loved being surrounded by teachers and students on the university campus. She would spend all of her days there…if she could!

Trouble was, by the time the girl discovered her love of academia, she was no longer a girl but a woman with a family and children and without the money she needed to go back to school full time.

What would she do at school full time? If she could, she’d get a doctoral degree and then become a college professor. She’d share her passion for learning with others and hopefully awaken in them the same. What would it take to get her there…and would it even be possible for her this late in her life? She would need to find a fellowship so her education would be paid for. She would need to convince her husband to move near the university…whereever that might be. She would also need to convince her husband to get a REAL job so he could support the family while she pursued her dreams.

All of which meant that her dream was really a fairy-tale, one without a “happily-ever-after” ending.

The end.

(Perhaps she could become a continuing ed teacher at the local community college instead? Stay tuned!)

I love learning, I love researching, and I love sharing what I’ve found, so I figure being a professor would be awesome. Getting a PhD is going to be tough, and my friends will begin working sooner then I will, but I think it’s going to be worth it. I want to teach English, especially American Literature.

I need time off now so this is for later

Somewhere my life got lost in marriage and children (that I adore) and a career I never wanted but had to have. Now I am glad that I did as it seems my husband was someone quite different than I thought he was and when he hit midlife it all came out. I am thankful for the career that I never wanted in finance but am passionate about cognitive neuropsych and would love to spend the rest of my life learning, researching, writing and teaching about it.

My oldest is going off to college this year and I will be the one assisting with that as well as continuing to raise the others on my own. The grad school I want is 2 hours away and is one of the top ten in the country but I really don’t think after 25 years of being out of school I can actually get myself into the doctoral program in an area I haven’t worked.

I read as much as I can and attend lectures but I only get one chance to parent my kids and with sports of all types, scouts, orchestra, music lessons and every other thing I just can’t do it all. Oh and I have to make a living too, business is slow at the moment and production has dropped off quite a bit, my exit strategy isn’t moving me anywhere. My dream is nearly dead and I remain….always treading water….