From: pgyrokit@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Chronicle article: Not a Bad Gig [HAPP-L]
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:33:58 -0500 (EST)
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Monday, November 10, 2003
Not a Bad Gig
By ROB JENKINS
Teaching at a two-year college actually has a lot of
advantages over teaching at a four-year institution -- and
certainly over being unemployed.
In my first column about teaching careers at community
colleges, I focused mostly on the bad news: heavy teaching
loads, little time for research, underprepared students, lower
salaries, lack of prestige. If my frankness made some think
twice about applying for openings at two-year colleges, well,
good. I've sat across the table from too many candidates who
had no idea what a community college was all about, and who
probably wouldn't have been there if they had.
But bad news, of course, is hardly the whole story. First and
foremost among the advantages is job security. I know you can
have job security at a four-year institution, too -- provided
you get tenure, which can be more or less difficult depending
on the institution. It's also true that not all two-year
colleges offer tenure, or, as some call it, a "continuing
contract."
But most community colleges do offer some version of tenure --
and it's often relatively easy to get. Unlike their
counterparts at four-year institutions, who may be required to
publish numerous articles and perhaps even a book to be
considered for tenure, community-college faculty members have
no such mandate. The truth is, at most two-year colleges, you
don't have to publish anything to get tenure.
You will probably be expected to participate in some sort of
professional development, but that could mean something as
simple as attending technology-training sessions on the campus
and going to the occasional academic conference. While those
are useful and worthwhile activities, they're clearly not as
demanding as writing a book.
More importantly, you will certainly have to show evidence of
good teaching and also, in most cases, of service to the
institution, because those are the primary activities of
community-college faculty members. But if you're able to do
that -- if you can document that you've consistently been a
good teacher, that you've served on committees and performed
other important functions for the college, and that you've
undergone at least some professional development -- you can
probably get tenure at most two-year colleges in three to five
years, seven at the outside.
Another potential advantage of the "teaching track" is that
you don't have to have a terminal degree. Read the ads for
faculty positions at community colleges, and you'll see that
nearly all list the same minimum requirements: master's degree
with 18 graduate semester hours in your particular field.
Don't assume that the term "minimum requirement" implies that
those with a master's degree don't stand a chance. Two-year
colleges actually hire lots of people with "just a master's"
-- two-thirds or more of the faculty at many two-year
institutions hold only a master's. True, some of those faculty
members are A.B.D., and many others have hours beyond the
master's. Quite a few go on to earn additional graduate hours
-- in many cases, at the college's expense -- and some even
complete their terminal degrees. But they were hired with
"just a master's."
Does that mean Ph.D.'s need not apply? Certainly not. In fact,
in recent years, the trend at community colleges has been to
hire more Ph.D.'s, partly because the market is glutted with
them and partly, perhaps, because word has gotten out that a
community college can be a pretty nice place to work. My
college, this past year, hired 16 new tenure-track faculty
members, six of whom hold terminal degrees. Ten years ago,
only two or three of the new hires would have had them.
That said, I don't believe that a terminal degree will
necessarily give you an advantage in applying or interviewing.
The faculty search committees I've served on -- at least a
dozen in the past decade -- were looking for the best teachers
we could find. Sometimes they were people with Ph.D.'s,
sometimes not. Our hiring committees tend to be "degree
blind," especially in the final stages of the search process.
Another advantage has to do with quality-of-life issues. In
addition to less stress, since faculty members probably won't
perish if they don't publish, community-college teaching
offers other lifestyle benefits, some quite tangible.
It's true that, on average, faculty salaries at two-year
colleges tend to be lower than those at four-year institutions
-- in some cases, much lower. On the other hand, two-year
colleges are often located in areas where the cost of living
is significantly lower than the national (or at least the
state) average. Many community-college professors are able to
live quite comfortably, despite the lower salaries.
In addition, most state systems offer excellent insurance
coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life, along
with a generous retirement plan. Many also allow faculty
members to take graduate courses within the state system at no
cost, and some even provide tuition benefits for their spouses
and children.
Prestige? That -- what there is of it -- is part of the
package, too. Over the years, I've known many colleagues who
were highly regarded in their local communities as experts. A
friend of mine, a history professor, published a popular
history of the area where he lives. A political-science
professor I know is frequently quoted in the local news media.
Others sponsor book clubs, give lectures to community art and
literary groups, or write columns for the newspaper.
Ultimately, though, the best thing about teaching at a
two-year school is just that: teaching. That's our primary
mission, and we know it. We embrace it. Our students know it,
too, and they expect us to be good at it.
By and large, we are very good at it -- especially given the
fact that so many of our students are less than ready for
college when they arrive. If there's anything more rewarding
in this profession than introducing a bright yet poorly
prepared (and perhaps unmotivated) student to the joy of
learning, perhaps for the first time, I haven't encountered
it. All teachers get to experience that occasionally.
Community-college teachers do it every day.
So, yes, my colleagues at four-year institutions are
publishing a lot more than I am. Some of them are even
becoming famous, or at least well known in their fields. Their
paychecks certainly have bigger numbers before the decimal
point.
But I seriously doubt that their careers -- or their lives,
for that matter -- are any more fulfilling than mine.
Rob Jenkins is an associate professor of English and chairman
of the humanities department at the Lawrenceville campus of
Georgia Perimeter College.
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