Many people find it challenging to choose a career direction. If you are completing a postgraduate degree at the moment, you might be wondering where to take your career. In the following article, I will share with you 5 advantages of becoming a lecturer. I’m sure there are many more, but here’s a good start….
Rewarding
The main reason for becoming a university lecturer is that it can be an incredibly rewarding job. You can talk about a subject that you genuinely enjoy. You get to see young people’s love of their subject increase, their academic performance improve and you can guide them in their choice of future career. Students can make you change the way you think about your academic work and can be a source of inspiration. Serious disciplinary problems might be rare because most students engage with their chosen course.
Training
Universities now offer their new lecturers training to help them hone their pedagogical skills. This training, usually taking one year, involves small groups of new lecturers from across the university coming together on a regular basis to develop teaching skills. They are awarded a recognised and transferable teaching qualification at the end of the course.
Flexible working
Many universities allow you to work from home during periods when you do not have to be in the university for teaching or administrative reasons. As a result, you can juggle family commitments more easily than in a traditional ‘nine to five’ role. A longer commute to work can be feasible because you do not have to be in the department every day. Many lecturers use email and text to keep in touch with students and colleagues (which reduces the need for constant presence in the department).
Autonomy
Unlike school teachers, university lecturers often have real autonomy over their teaching. They can choose which part of their specialist area they want to teach and how they want to teach it. Course design is often left in the hands of an individual lecturer. The lecturer can plan out weekly topics and the way that the course is assessed.
Research
As well as managing classroom work, lecturers are encouraged to be active researchers. Although the two strands of work could work in harmony, it can be challenging to fit in both aspects of the job. Working on your research and publications means that you are seen as an expert in your field. And it can greatly enhance your reputation as a teacher in the eyes of your colleagues and your students.
We hope you found these 5 Advantages of Becoming a Lecturer useful.
For further tips on lecturing see:
- Balancing Academic Research and Teaching
- Discussion as a Teaching Method
- Applying for Teaching Positions – Top Tips
- Constructivist Approaches to Teaching and Learning
I want to be a professional of pharmacist
Thanks ma i learn a lot from it.
Thank you for this article, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I start university in September 2021 and lecturing is a career that has long since appealed to me. It seems like a highly regarded, rewarding path and one I’m eager to pursue.
Thank you. Very informative.
Thank you for the article, in fact, it was exactly what i was looking for. Am still an A level student dreaming to obtain admission in to university.
Thank you
This is interesting. I guess it has given the answer I’m looking for. That’s a career I want to pursue
I want to be a Lecturer
Thank you for article. I have been teaching for 12 yeas as leacurer.
Thank you for this article. I am still a GCSE student and I am dreaming to be a professor of Aerospace Engineering at a university. Thank you so much for your time and effort into making this Article. It is exactly what I am looking for.