Any college professors out there?

illinoisgolf99

Hello to all my brothers and sisters of the leaf! I'm contemplating/will be going to graduate school to get my Masters in Landscape Architecture with the plan of going on to teach at the university level. I wanted to see if there were any professors/teachers on the forums that could give me any wisdom and share their advice. What's it like to teach at a higher level?

beatnic

Yes. Go to graduate school. A big leg up in today's world. Then decide. If you want to teach, get a PhD. You may see new opportunities emerging and decide to enter the private sector. Don't look too far ahead. Good luck.

Roberto99

I was an assistant professor for 8 years and let it go. There is certainly a sense of satisfaction but the pay is usually not as good in that environment as it is going out into your profession. Sometimes that satisfaction can be worth the difference.

Gray4lines

Teaching at the college level seems like it could be very cool, no experience but I'm looking at getting a Ph.d as well. Just go for it, and try to get in on a teaching assistant position as you work on your degree. I can't imagine a better opportunity to see how you like it AND pay for school. Win,win

Bombay

Also have a graduate degree, earned last spring in public policy, If you are sure you want to teach at the university level a graduate degree may not be what you are after, and may need to just go for your PHD. I will say a lot of PHD programs now combine the masters and phd together, so you earn your masters while earning your phd if that makes sense. to me that would be the way to do it as it usually doesn't take any more time to earn both as it does just to earn your phd.

kuzi16

beatnic:

Yes. Go to graduate school. A big leg up in today's world. Then decide. If you want to teach, get a PhD. You may see new opportunities emerging and decide to enter the private sector. Don't look too far ahead. Good luck.

i disagree here. i went to school for Architecture.
the money in architecture is in actual design, especially if you have your own firm. you do not need more than a BA for that. i dont know if landscape architecture is that different.
however, if you want to teach because you like teaching, then go for it.

OR

You could do both.

jgibv

illinoisgolf99:

Hello to all my brothers and sisters of the leaf! I'm contemplating/will be going to graduate school to get my Masters in Landscape Architecture with the plan of going on to teach at the university level. I wanted to see if there were any professors/teachers on the forums that could give me any wisdom and share their advice. What's it like to teach at a higher level?

Not a professor, but in my previous job - I worked at a research lab at one of the larger, public Ohio Universities.

While I was there, my experience was that if you wanted to teach or be considered for a full-time/tenured professor role, you needed at least a Master's degree, depending on what field you were in. My bosses wanted me to teach an undergraduate class but the "higher up" faculty/deans would not allow it since I did not have a Masters.
I was in the college of communication though, and am not sure how this would be with Landscape Architecture....

But if you want to teach at the university level, in a specific field...I would highly suggest you check out higheredjobs.com and see what kind of demand there is for your field before committing to another 2+ yrs of school and more debt in hopes of getting a job that may not exist....
Just my $0.02. But regardless of what you do, best of luck in your journey.

beatnic

kuzi16:

beatnic:

Yes. Go to graduate school. A big leg up in today's world. Then decide. If you want to teach, get a PhD. You may see new opportunities emerging and decide to enter the private sector. Don't look too far ahead. Good luck.

i disagree here. i went to school for Architecture.
the money in architecture is in actual design, especially if you have your own firm. you do not need more than a BA for that. i dont know if landscape architecture is that different.
however, if you want to teach because you like teaching, then go for it.

OR

You could do both.

That's not very inspiring.
What kind of Architecture do you do, Kuzi?

Mephisto

I'm in the last year of a phd program, so I'm not a prof yet but i hope to be soon and I've been teaching at the university for several years. Why are you thinking about the advanced degree? If it's about money, generally what everyone here says is correct: Working is better. But if you love thinking and talking about the ideas in your field (and I mean you geek out about it constantly) then go for the degree. The most important factor for graduate study is a passion for the subject. If you love it and want to live it 24/7 then go for it. If it's just about a job or money, then don't. Grad school is exhausting and overwhelming. It becomes your whole life (really, there isn't time for anything else). If that still sounds exciting, then you'll do great.

Teaching is much the same. It tends to be all consuming and it isn't the only obligation of the job. Depending on where you teach there are other tasks. There's almost always committee work to be done and yes it is as soul-sucking as people say. If you want to teach at an R1 university (you know the big ones), then you also have to contribute to the knowledge of your field, meaning produce research and articles and present lectures at conferences, etc. . .Teaching at the university also tends to take over one's life. So, again, if you love landscape architecture and want to eat sleep breathe it, then go for it, you'll do great.

kuzi16

beatnic:

kuzi16:

beatnic:

Yes. Go to graduate school. A big leg up in today's world. Then decide. If you want to teach, get a PhD. You may see new opportunities emerging and decide to enter the private sector. Don't look too far ahead. Good luck.

i disagree here. i went to school for Architecture.
the money in architecture is in actual design, especially if you have your own firm. you do not need more than a BA for that. i dont know if landscape architecture is that different.
however, if you want to teach because you like teaching, then go for it.

OR

You could do both.

That's not very inspiring.
What kind of Architecture do you do, Kuzi?

i dont. i hated it.
but i have friends that i left in the program that made just this exact decision over the last 5 years. only one of them went on for more schooling because he wanted to teach on the side. he makes his "real" money at the firm he works for and he makes his fun money teaching 2 days a week. he just WANTS to teach.

like i said, i cant speak for landscape architecture. i did your standard building Architecture.

you have to keep in mind that modern architecture (and by that i mean: "using modern teaching systems") has not been around that long. pretty much one generation of architects ago was all taught by being an apprentice. the bachelors degree teaches architecture. beyond that also teaches how to teach it plus a few other things that are good to know and understand but are not "needed" in the practical use of design.


but i cannot stress this enough: i have little experience with landscape architecture.

YankeeMan

I am the department chair in Criminal Justice at a community college. This is my second stint as a chair having done the same thing at a small college in Syracuse, NY.

I have a Masters and that is as far as I want to go. Bombay is correct. If you want to teach at the university level, you will need your PHD. You will also probably have to do some research and publishing which is a requirement at most universities.

Teaching at a community college is more fun for me as I enjoy the closeness among faculty and students and the family atmosphere. The pay at community colleges is indeed lower than you would get at a university. I have the luxury of having a police pension, so the lower salary is not an issue. For most people, obviously, salary is a factor.

Try getting an adjunct position at a community or two-year college and see if you like teaching at all. It may not be for you. For myself, as long as I am healthy and not too senile, they will have to carry me out of my college! I love teaching and the kids keep my young.

illinoisgolf99

Mephisto:

I'm in the last year of a phd program, so I'm not a prof yet but i hope to be soon and I've been teaching at the university for several years. Why are you thinking about the advanced degree? If it's about money, generally what everyone here says is correct: Working is better. But if you love thinking and talking about the ideas in your field (and I mean you geek out about it constantly) then go for the degree. The most important factor for graduate study is a passion for the subject. If you love it and want to live it 24/7 then go for it. If it's just about a job or money, then don't. Grad school is exhausting and overwhelming. It becomes your whole life (really, there isn't time for anything else). If that still sounds exciting, then you'll do great.

Teaching is much the same. It tends to be all consuming and it isn't the only obligation of the job. Depending on where you teach there are other tasks. There's almost always committee work to be done and yes it is as soul-sucking as people say. If you want to teach at an R1 university (you know the big ones), then you also have to contribute to the knowledge of your field, meaning produce research and articles and present lectures at conferences, etc. . .Teaching at the university also tends to take over one's life. So, again, if you love landscape architecture and want to eat sleep breathe it, then go for it, you'll do great.

Lots of good info here guys! I appreciate all of the insight. I'm working on narrowing down my schools and seeing what programs offer MLA and phD degrees. I've still got a long way, but this is what I want to do.

Ken_Light

College professor here. Psych. Neuroscience. Whatever you want to call it. Run. Don't go. Don't look back.

Getting a PhD right now is about like going into the mortgage/real estate business 10 years ago. The whole market is flooded with worthless PhD degrees, tuition is increasing at an unsustainable rate and the government is finding more important things to fund than research. It's about to collapse. Keep out. Yellow warning tape.