How to become a lecturer?

canavanbn@hotma

Curious, I take it you have to have an honours degree and any masters?
Is it possible to become a lecturer straight out of leaving college?
How/where are lecturing jobs advertised?
What are the pros and the cons of the job, as i know an awful lot of lecturers seem to frequent the boards..
And what sort of $ will a typical lecturer get?
Many lecturing jobs available in Ireland?
Any other sites that can advise?

Gone West

*Edit*If you're going to post, make is sensible. *Edit*

Pinx

I'd imagine that a lot of the larger colleges would expect you to have at least a Masters. I know a lot of PhD students lecture for a few hours a week while doing their research. There's a job site for teachers in Ireland which you might find useful http://www.teachingjobs.ie/ - they often have lecturing jobs advertised. Apart from that, I think the Sunday Independent would be a good place to start looking, as well as the careers page on a college website. If you're thinking about becoming a lecturer, it might be a good idea to become a tutor while in college. I did this while I was doing my M.A. - I tutored first years. It's only a few hours a week and although it's on a much smaller scale, it gives you an idea of what it might be like to plan and present information, take feedback, ask and answer questions, etc. Good luck!

base2

Phd. 3-4 years
2-3 post docs then for about 4-6 years,
Then when youre finished you get the joy of competing with lots of others for a mediocre salary and job.

AlienGav

base2 wrote:

Phd. 3-4 years
2-3 post docs then for about 4-6 years,
Then when youre finished you get the joy of competing with lots of others for a mediocre salary and job.

Nonsense! Using your logic, you're trying to say that someone will spend the guts of TEN years in university for an average paid job?! Rubbish!

I'd hazzard a guess and say these people start off on around 50k, I remember reading somewhere on Boards.ie that the average wage for a lecturer was 70k in UCD :eek:

Something I'd love to do... Just need an education first! :rolleyes:

base2

Nonsense?

Do you know something I don't? I'm in the physics dept. in NUIG so I think I'm better placed to say what is actually happening. You will not get a science lecturing job in Ireland at this stage without at least one post-doc. End of story. Thats 4 years undergrad, 6 years post grad.

Tom Dunne

For the Institutes of Technology, the minimum requirement is an honours degree, plus three years post-grad experience (so no, you can't get a job as a lecturer straight out of college). In my experience, you stand a much better chance of getting a job as a lecturer with a Masters. A lot of the private colleges require you to have a masters.

For universities, you need to either have a PhD or be studying for it.

Pay starts at 36,663, not too bad a salary for 18 hours a week. As it is on a pay scale, you are guaranteed a 1.5k increase each year.

base2, you obviously haven't a clue what you are talking about

deRanged

Don't confuse post docs with lecturing jobs. both have standard salary scales.
You can look them up on college websites.

I'd agree with base2 largely. It'd be very unusual for someone to get a lecturing job without at least postdoc experience. (Though industrial can count too obviously).

I'm heading towards the end of a Ph.D and if I go for a postdoc it'd be paying just about 33k. That's with a 4 year degree, 3 years industrial experience, and 4 years of a Ph.D.

base2

And another thing.

Lecturing jobs in universities don't mean you just do a few hours of teaching a week. Your main job is as a researcher and a lot of lecturers might just do 2-4 hours a week.

tribulus

pay scales for ucd

other positions, professor, administrator etc. on the left

the top people get quite a bit

dudara

after doing a BSc Physics (Hons) in UCC, I started a PhD in Elec Eng. After 3 years, my funding expired so I needed to source extra income. I got in contact with the CIT and was offered part-time hours lecturing on a night-time course. For this I received circa E45 a hour, which has now been increased to E55. I now have two years lecturing experience. On top of that I have 5 years tutoring and demonstrating experience gained in UCC as a postgrad.

I've recently applied for some institute of Technology full time positions, with a starting salary scale of circa E40k. They required an honours degree with preferably Masters/PhD. I don't recall experience, but it probably is very desirable.

As to getting a gig in a University, that will be far harder. PhD will be required plus postdoc/industry experience at the least. However, the renumeration is very attractive.

base2

Heres the UCD lecturing salary

0109 95 ASSISTANT LECTURER 1 €32,578.00 p.a. 01/06/2005

10 years of college for that?

Whats more heres a the pay for some bottom level admin person

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER II 1 €35,112.00 p.a. 01/06/2005

Even better.

0130 95 LIBRARIAN 1 €94,712.00 p.a. 01/06/2005
2 €100,144.00 p.a.
3 €105,576.00 p.a.
4 €111,006.00 p.a.
5 €116,439.00 p.a.
6 €121,870.00 p.a.

leeroybrown

The entry level pay for lectuing may be low-ish but once a lecturer gains experience and progress up the salary scale along with the posibility of ipromotion the pay actually becomes very good. In addition in some colleges lecturers get additional pay for extra responsibilities such as co-ordinating courses, etc.

ecksor

Well, hopefully we don't get lecturers who spent 10 years in college with just money on their mind anyway.

base2

Do you have any idea how intelligent (ie. best of the best), hardworking and patient you have to be to get to the senior lecturere level with its paltry E60k salary?

ecksor

What's your point?

base2

Pretty obvious from my posts but I'll spell it out for the slower users out there.

Lecturing is a **** job.

ecksor

Oh right, you were repeating yourself. I thought you were trying to add something new to your argument there.

Lump

Careful Now!

John

Hunter S

Its kinda nice to have about 5 and a half months at minimum off a year as well

deRanged

Hunter S wrote:

Its kinda nice to have about 5 and a half months at minimum off a year as well

Lecturers get a (generous) set annual leave allowance like everyone else. They're supposed to be working during the summer when not lecturing too, but ...

Tom Dunne

base2 wrote:

Pretty obvious from my posts but I'll spell it out for the slower users out there.

Lecturing is a **** job.

Sorry, didn't catch the **** . What is it you are trying to say.

So, working 18 hours a week, 35 weeks of the year, for 36k a year is what?

base2

Do you not get it? Lecturers do not work small hours because lecturing only accounts for about 20% of their actual job. They work very long hours with no overtime and just get the usual 25 days or so holidays a year.

Tom Dunne

A lecturer in an Institute of Technology works, on average 20 hours a week (18 hours + 2 hours average for correcting). I don't really think a lecturer in a university works much more.

I think as DeRanged said, there is a difference between a post doc/researcher and a lecturing job in a university.

base2

Ok. THis thread is boring. If you want to believe in fiction go ahead. I'm just trying to set the lad straight from someone who actually is inovolved in research/teaching.

Tom Dunne

Yes, but he didn't ask about research, he asked about lecturing.

So, how many hours a week do you lecture?

Lump

RIGHT! Enough.... the original poster asked about getting in to lecturing, not about the holidays and/or hours worked. This thread was dodgy to begin with as it's not really college work, as in students work.

Stay on topic, or it'll be locked.

John

Nukem

Ya an become a lecturer through loads of avenues,i imagine it depends on what course and level you wish to lecture at.You see loads of TA's with Masters and PhD's but in all honesty i prefer to be taught by people who have experience.
Had a lecturer a few yrs ago and i actually had more field experience than him >crazy< how is he fit tyo teach when he doesnt know (not goin in2 it caus il get v.annoyed)

Have had lecturers with just a degree and have worked for yrs and still do outside college and i find them spot on: no bullsh!t,they say yes or no , not "go read that manual/book and find out". Hates that.

My advice is talk to a current lecturer that you may know and ask them over a coffee what they did and how they may help ya?

Nukem

Tom Dunne

Lump wrote:

RIGHT! Enough.... the original poster asked about getting in to lecturing, not about the holidays and/or hours worked. This thread was dodgy to begin with as it's not really college work, as in students work.

Stay on topic, or it'll be locked.

Yes, and I answered him directly. It's trolls like base2 that dragged it off topic.

dudara

base2 wrote:

Ok. THis thread is boring. If you want to believe in fiction go ahead. I'm just trying to set the lad straight from someone who actually is inovolved in research/teaching.

Jesus, what flew up your ass? It seems like you're really doing your best to put the lad off teaching. I'm, also invloved in research/teaching and I really dislike your attitude.

michaelanthony

The ITs seem to pay well. My maths lecture was youngish - about 30 - with a masters and used to drive in to work in a brand new 3 series convertible. Most of the other lecturers either had BSc s with a lot of industrial experience or MSc s with relatively little industrial experience.