Any College Profs out there?

Wow, very interesting discussion.

I have been a prof at community college and 4 year college (state system). Community college is sometimes the butt of jokes in higher education, but in reality I loved my classes there.

I taught Anatomy and Physiology there, mostly to nursing students. One of the more amazing things was the differences within the student population - some were indeed extremely bright, whereas others probably shouldn't have been in nursing. The differences in average scores on identical exams were statistically significant - my 4PM class was about 15-20 percentage points lower than my 7PM class for each exam (though there were outliers in each group)... Basically the night time students just seemed a bit more mature (most were pursuing a new, better career), knew that if they didn't do well on these exams, they were just screwing themselves over. It was also unfortunate, because there were some very bright minds, but they came from poor educational backgrounds, so they missed out on a lot of learning fundamentals that most people out of high school would know and needed extra help. Because many students worked full time and went to school also, they were envious of the "lucky" people at 4 year colleges who could attend school full time.

At the undergrad level at a 4 year college, there is a lot of variation. Some excellent students who don't take things for granted... And then others who just see it as a lifestyle, and earn a degree on the side, hardly showing up to class, not caring, and then when the semester is done, telling you they wanted to get an "A" in your class, and are disappointed with their grade and want retrospective extra credit. It gets frustrating, because even though many students are great, sometimes you feel like you are baby sitting the ones who aren't willing to try. But as long as you do your best to give them the opportunity to learn, making yourself available by e-mail, office hours, etc. that is all anybody can ask for.

Getting a PhD is definitely worth it, but as others have pointed out, once you have yours, you will find out that so does everybody else! Getting a tenure-track job is difficult, because it is so competitive. And then once you have it, getting tenure is a lifestyle of its own at a big research university (but is a little more laid back at a teaching type of university). And also, it is important to know that often your line of research is dependent on where the money is... There's not a whole lot of government funding to study elite running performance (like most people on this board are interested in), although with some creativity, you can find it.

Just make sure you get a mix of teaching and research experience along your way - experience helps you get the jobs. For example, the situation I once faced was this... During my PhD I got a lot of research experience, but almost zero teaching experience. Nobody wanted to hire me, because I didn't have teaching experience. But I couldn't get any teaching experience without somebody to hire me... That makes it very difficult... However, I eventually got some teaching experience, received faculty and student evaluations (had something to show for it), and things became easier.

There's a lot more to it than that, but the bottom line is becoming a prof is a long and difficult experience.... but once you make it, it is excellent to be able to help students learn and do research.

I'll admit that I may be biased because I teach at a CC, but as far as the students go, I'd say it is very unfair to categorize them as generally being inferior to students who go to four-year institutions. Partly, this depends on the major. I will admit that there is a greater variation from low to high, but that is because many CCs have an open-door admission policy (and in NY, where I live, that's the law). Access is a key element of the CC mission.

Having said that, the vast majority of students who graduate from our CC program go on to get a Bachelors degree or higher. The feedback that we have received from transfer institutions (and the students themselves) is that they are among the highest performers. Now that may have something to do with the nature of technical coursework or even our particular program; I can't speak for other majors or institutions. I do have some good anecdotes though. I often get students who have come to us from a larger institution. In general, what they love about the CC (besides the low cost) is the personal atmosphere: small class sizes, quality teaching, not feeling like a number, being able to see your prof, NOT having to deal with disgruntled grad assistants INSTEAD of your prof, etc. Further, I have met more than one individual with advanced degrees from major "name" institutions who also went to a CC. To a person, they all claim that they got the best education at the CC or in some cases, a small regional 4-year. CCs focus on teaching and we do it well.

Like I said, if you want to do research, stay away from the CC. If you want to TEACH and interact with people, a CC is great. I considered getting a PhD a few years back but I nixed the idea because it just wasn't worth it to me. I don't do a lot of formal research and that's really what a PhD is designed for (at least in the sciences and engineering). It wasn't designed to help my teaching. Yes, there would be some advantages for my students, but it simply was not worth the time and money required. But hey, if you're just starting out and you've got both the time and money, what the hey, go for it. Like I always tell my students, it will be far easier to do it now while you're in "student mode" than it will be to go back and do it years from now.

Ezra C. wrote:

Getting your degree in exercise physiology or kinesiology will essentially mean you have a PhD in gym. I would go with a medically relevant field, such as cardiology ot pathology, and then, if you really want, go back to physiology.

I'm an ex phys prof. In general it's a field with decent job opportunities in academia. If you want to teach/research in an exercise science/Kinesiology department, a Ph.D. in exercise physiology is fine. I've never found it limiting. It might be if I were applying to a physiology or biology department.

It's also never been an issue that I'm aware with respect to federal grant applications.

I would eventually like to end up at a smaller liberal arts school, as is my background before entering my masters program. To further my question, what sort of steps did you all take in becoming a professor. Did you get your masters and go straight in to you Ph.D. or did you teach/research some in between. I would like to do research, but would not like my life to depend on it, that is another reason for the desire to teach at a liberal arts school. Thanks for all of the replies.

macker wrote:

I'm an ex phys prof. In general it's a field with decent job opportunities in academia. If you want to teach/research in an exercise science/Kinesiology department, a Ph.D. in exercise physiology is fine. I've never found it limiting. It might be if I were applying to a physiology or biology department.

It's also never been an issue that I'm aware with respect to federal grant applications.

The NIH is more than happy to give money to researchers exploring chronic disease populations, which can be subgroup of ex science. When I got my MS, none of my professors even considered working with athletes, only older adults with chronic disease, especially COPD, CAD, osteoarthritis, and health psych issues.

You have to research what's relevant.

To the OP, I envy my advisor's lifestyle. He worked extremely hard, and was a leader in his field. This gave him the opportunity to run as much as he wanted, travel for various lectures and conferences, be referenced in larger mainstream publications (Runner's World, etc), and make an impact on his students and patients. I'm considering going back to get my PhD in a few years.

One of my PT profs told me that having real world experience helps when getting an academic position. I have my DPT and am going to work for a few years before going back to school. This also allows for me to have more opportunities for positions because I'm not corralled into a strictly exercise science dept, I will have the physical therapy degree to go with the PhD.

Good point, if you are going to teach and do research, you should probably join a program that will give you experience in both. The PhD will get you research experience, but other than some stints as a TA, you will probably not get much exposure to teaching. I got an MAT along with a PhD, which was well worth the additional effort.

bethalto wrote:

I am currently in the field of Exercise Physiology, and would like to continue with that for my Dr. If there is anyone out there with experience in this field, would you recommend the PhD in ex phys, or a different topic such as cardiac phys. I want to have as many options as I can.

Mt impression from 20 years ago when I looked closely at some of the literature (i.e., journals) was that they level of the profession was pretty modest/mediocre on the science end. Little consistent understanding of what statistical tests really mean and the right sort of implications to draw from them. Getting articles in must have been pretty easy. I suspect that it has changed since then. If you are on the right side of this issue technically you are in a better position. You must be scientifically better than most of the current faculty, as it is a field that is tightening up in standards; they do not want to hirer someone that does not raise their average level. Do you have (would you be able to develop) links on funding? Good luck. (The comment on related, 'higher quality' fields is worth listening to, as well.)

I have a PhD in Econ and had what was essentially a post-doc research (plus a little teaching) at a good school. I did a good job getting published but that did not get me by blemishes on my record (too long getting degree). Thus, I could not get interviews at places that were my minimum acceptable level of school, although I did get on the short list at a school right near the top. I did not have the patience/flexibility to go through multiple years of this so went with a small, semi-academic consulting company that was a spin-off of a major U. It was a good choice for me, although I do not know how it would have worked going other routes.