How to become a community college instructor with an MS in Ecology
November 3, 2014 1:52 PM Subscribe
I'm working on my masters degree in ecology and I'm exploring the idea of teaching at the community college level once I graduate. What should I be doing over the next 1-2 years before graduation to keep that option open and position myself to succeed if I decide to go down that path?
I'm a teaching assistant this term for an intro biometrics (~=statistics) course and I'm discovering, much to my surprise, that I love teaching. I love explaining things to people, I love being patient and working with people on questions, and I love thinking about how to present information to different groups to get things across to them. I'm finding it especially rewarding to work with underrepresented groups, trying to keep them engaged and counsel them through their impostor syndrome, things like that. However, I have little interest in staying on the traditional academia path after I graduate, so I'm exploring my options for teaching at the community college level. Is that something you can usually do in ecology/biology/environmental fields without a Ph.D, or will I be hard-pressed to find a job with just my MS? What else should I be keeping in mind if I want to leave that option open for myself when I graduate?
A bit about my background: I expect to graduate with my M.S. in Systems Ecology, and my research relates to climate & atmospheric sciences, forest ecology, statistics, and ecological modeling. My B.S. is in environmental sciences, and I would feel comfortable and qualified teaching most lower-division physical or biological sciences (or GIS & statistics, for that matter). I'm TAing this class but normally my funding is as a research assistant, so I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to TA another course before I'm done (although I'll definitely take it if it's offered to me), and I don't have any other teaching experience, although I'd like to do more mentoring of young women in science and plan to get more involved in that this year.
I did a cursory job search of open community college instructor positions just to survey the situation, and one thing that jumped out at me is that almost all of the positions I could find are in very discipline-specific fields, whereas my background is very interdisciplinary. Will this be an issue in hiring, or is it possible that my interdisciplinary background would be a bonus? On a similar note, are community colleges staffing up broader-scope environmental programs or is everything still in its segregated fields (biology, geology, etc)?
Honestly, teaching part-time and consulting or working for a non-profit part-time would be an almost ideal gig for me, so I'm not necessarily put off by the part-time nature of many community college-level teaching gigs. Similarly, I'm a night owl who keeps strange hours by nature, so teaching in the evenings wouldn't be terribly onerous for me. Any other comments you might have about the pros or cons of a community college instructor position would be much appreciated.
I'm a teaching assistant this term for an intro biometrics (~=statistics) course and I'm discovering, much to my surprise, that I love teaching. I love explaining things to people, I love being patient and working with people on questions, and I love thinking about how to present information to different groups to get things across to them. I'm finding it especially rewarding to work with underrepresented groups, trying to keep them engaged and counsel them through their impostor syndrome, things like that. However, I have little interest in staying on the traditional academia path after I graduate, so I'm exploring my options for teaching at the community college level. Is that something you can usually do in ecology/biology/environmental fields without a Ph.D, or will I be hard-pressed to find a job with just my MS? What else should I be keeping in mind if I want to leave that option open for myself when I graduate?
A bit about my background: I expect to graduate with my M.S. in Systems Ecology, and my research relates to climate & atmospheric sciences, forest ecology, statistics, and ecological modeling. My B.S. is in environmental sciences, and I would feel comfortable and qualified teaching most lower-division physical or biological sciences (or GIS & statistics, for that matter). I'm TAing this class but normally my funding is as a research assistant, so I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to TA another course before I'm done (although I'll definitely take it if it's offered to me), and I don't have any other teaching experience, although I'd like to do more mentoring of young women in science and plan to get more involved in that this year.
I did a cursory job search of open community college instructor positions just to survey the situation, and one thing that jumped out at me is that almost all of the positions I could find are in very discipline-specific fields, whereas my background is very interdisciplinary. Will this be an issue in hiring, or is it possible that my interdisciplinary background would be a bonus? On a similar note, are community colleges staffing up broader-scope environmental programs or is everything still in its segregated fields (biology, geology, etc)?
Honestly, teaching part-time and consulting or working for a non-profit part-time would be an almost ideal gig for me, so I'm not necessarily put off by the part-time nature of many community college-level teaching gigs. Similarly, I'm a night owl who keeps strange hours by nature, so teaching in the evenings wouldn't be terribly onerous for me. Any other comments you might have about the pros or cons of a community college instructor position would be much appreciated.
Best answer: Orsonet is right that (most) colleges will take any master's degree + 18 hours in your teaching field. Some colleges may be picker than others, but if you can make the case that 18 of your hours are biology, then you are probably okay.
I can really only speak to my experience. At the community college where I teach, very few people in the sciences have a PhD. Most instructors are doing fine with a master's degree. I suspect there are fewer applications for science positions than for humanities, but when I was looking for a job, I applied to literally every open position in the country and got two interviews, one at quite literally the worst college in Texas, and one in a town where no one wants to live. I picked option 2 to get my foot in the door, and have been applying for every community college job in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana since then, trying to stay reasonably close to home, and I have gotten one interview in three 1/2 years, no offers. I have great references and good experience, but the market is really tight.
I think the best thing to help your chances is to try to get hired on as an adjunct ASAP. That is usually pretty easy--lots of colleges are looking for part timers they can pay $2000 per class per semester and not have to provide benefits. That will give you experience in the community college environment, which most colleges want to see. It will also show that you have the qualifications on your transcript to teach. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) how many people apply for college teaching jobs without enough graduate work in the field they want to teach. If at all possible, try to get experience teaching online classes or at least web-enhanced classes, and show that you know your way around content management systems. My college loves to offer online classes. Fewer cars in the parking lot, less air conditioning, some tuition. I don't think they are good for (most) students, but we offer more and more of them.
Pros and cons: the pay sucks. At least in my state, there isn't a single community college position that pays as much as the nearby elementary school. Less and less money is coming from the state. Frankly, everyone here works overloads--everyone. We do our contracted five classes plus two or three more to make ends meet.
The dropout rate is atrocious. I don't know what the national numbers are, but here 13% of students complete an associates degree within three years. A lot of my students are severely underprepared, have minimal study skills, and most are juggling job and family obligations. Our average student is 26 years old. It is very different than a university. Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated knowing that over 80% of my students are paying tuition money (or going into debt) for their classes and it isn't ultimately going to make a difference for them.
The good part: I think once you land a job, expectations are pretty reasonable. It's not that hard to do well and make tenure. You just have to get in. You usually have a reasonably flexible schedule. This is the lowest stress job I've ever had. Every day is an okay day, at least. Students respond well to any sign of enthusiasm or creativity from their instructors. I like my students a lot, and maybe part of that is that they are often more grown up with more life experience. The ones who take it seriously take it very seriously.
Now, I'm at a biggish border college where 99% of my students are Mexican-American, so the atmosphere is different than other places, and obviously less diverse. But I adjuncted for a while at a very diverse urban college and felt much the same way there.
I don't know where you are looking for jobs, but I set up an automatic search at www.higheredjobs.com, and I get an email whenever a new position that fits my parameters becomes available. Super handy. Not every college posts there, but most do. If something is open, apply right away! Most colleges stop accepting applications about one week after posting the position.
Okay, re-reading your question, I see you are very open to part time. Again, the pay is not great. Most adjuncts are either starving or adjuncting on top of a full-time job. $2000/class/semester is exactly what I was paid as an adjunct, and about what I get for overload classes. But from everything I have seen, getting an adjunct position is pretty easy. So maybe you're in luck.
That was a lot. I'm a lowly speech instructor, but I'm on MeMail if there is anything I can help you with going forward.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:57 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
I can really only speak to my experience. At the community college where I teach, very few people in the sciences have a PhD. Most instructors are doing fine with a master's degree. I suspect there are fewer applications for science positions than for humanities, but when I was looking for a job, I applied to literally every open position in the country and got two interviews, one at quite literally the worst college in Texas, and one in a town where no one wants to live. I picked option 2 to get my foot in the door, and have been applying for every community college job in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana since then, trying to stay reasonably close to home, and I have gotten one interview in three 1/2 years, no offers. I have great references and good experience, but the market is really tight.
I think the best thing to help your chances is to try to get hired on as an adjunct ASAP. That is usually pretty easy--lots of colleges are looking for part timers they can pay $2000 per class per semester and not have to provide benefits. That will give you experience in the community college environment, which most colleges want to see. It will also show that you have the qualifications on your transcript to teach. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) how many people apply for college teaching jobs without enough graduate work in the field they want to teach. If at all possible, try to get experience teaching online classes or at least web-enhanced classes, and show that you know your way around content management systems. My college loves to offer online classes. Fewer cars in the parking lot, less air conditioning, some tuition. I don't think they are good for (most) students, but we offer more and more of them.
Pros and cons: the pay sucks. At least in my state, there isn't a single community college position that pays as much as the nearby elementary school. Less and less money is coming from the state. Frankly, everyone here works overloads--everyone. We do our contracted five classes plus two or three more to make ends meet.
The dropout rate is atrocious. I don't know what the national numbers are, but here 13% of students complete an associates degree within three years. A lot of my students are severely underprepared, have minimal study skills, and most are juggling job and family obligations. Our average student is 26 years old. It is very different than a university. Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated knowing that over 80% of my students are paying tuition money (or going into debt) for their classes and it isn't ultimately going to make a difference for them.
The good part: I think once you land a job, expectations are pretty reasonable. It's not that hard to do well and make tenure. You just have to get in. You usually have a reasonably flexible schedule. This is the lowest stress job I've ever had. Every day is an okay day, at least. Students respond well to any sign of enthusiasm or creativity from their instructors. I like my students a lot, and maybe part of that is that they are often more grown up with more life experience. The ones who take it seriously take it very seriously.
Now, I'm at a biggish border college where 99% of my students are Mexican-American, so the atmosphere is different than other places, and obviously less diverse. But I adjuncted for a while at a very diverse urban college and felt much the same way there.
I don't know where you are looking for jobs, but I set up an automatic search at www.higheredjobs.com, and I get an email whenever a new position that fits my parameters becomes available. Super handy. Not every college posts there, but most do. If something is open, apply right away! Most colleges stop accepting applications about one week after posting the position.
Okay, re-reading your question, I see you are very open to part time. Again, the pay is not great. Most adjuncts are either starving or adjuncting on top of a full-time job. $2000/class/semester is exactly what I was paid as an adjunct, and about what I get for overload classes. But from everything I have seen, getting an adjunct position is pretty easy. So maybe you're in luck.
That was a lot. I'm a lowly speech instructor, but I'm on MeMail if there is anything I can help you with going forward.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:57 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: This is all extremely helpful, thank you so much! I already have 11 grad-level biology credits here and I'll make sure that reaches 18 before I'm finished. The 18 credits information is especially handy for me because courses are frequently cross-listed between forestry, biology, and natural resource management departments, and so I'll make sure to take the bio versions when I can.
Also, if I'd be better off trying to teach high school science, I'm open to advice on that idea too.
posted by dialetheia at 5:02 PM on November 3, 2014
Also, if I'd be better off trying to teach high school science, I'm open to advice on that idea too.
posted by dialetheia at 5:02 PM on November 3, 2014
Best answer: Teaching at the high school or below level is a different prospect, because you have to get state certification. That is more or less easy to do given the state you plan to teach in: here in New England, it is often difficult and may require a teaching degree anyway.
The only thing I have to add re: community college is that you should try and get whatever lecture experience you can as a TA. This is often a little more difficult for science grad students because we are often teaching labs or just grading with office hours. Dependin on what your research requirements are, if you could get a smallish summer course to teach on your own, that would be great.
And all my best for wanting to do a community college. I am a PhD student now, and I got my academic footing at a community college, after a rough false start post high school. Can't say enough good things about CC.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 3:59 AM on November 4, 2014
The only thing I have to add re: community college is that you should try and get whatever lecture experience you can as a TA. This is often a little more difficult for science grad students because we are often teaching labs or just grading with office hours. Dependin on what your research requirements are, if you could get a smallish summer course to teach on your own, that would be great.
And all my best for wanting to do a community college. I am a PhD student now, and I got my academic footing at a community college, after a rough false start post high school. Can't say enough good things about CC.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 3:59 AM on November 4, 2014
Best answer: In my experience, yes, having an interdisciplinary degree can be an obstacle. Both my MS and PhD are in Ecology, and Biology departments wondered if I would be happier in an Environmental Sciences department and Environmental Sciences departments wondered if I would be happier in a Biology department.
I ended up in a Biology department (at a 4 year school), and yes, there was some struggle to find the right way to count my credits to get up to 18 hours in Biology. Courses in, for instance, Botany and Entomology should totally count, but the initial analysis said that the courses had to have a Biology prefix, even though those courses were taken at a school without any graduate level courses in "Biology".
You will obviously need to check the community colleges you are applying to, but my experience is that there is much more demand for biology at the community college level than for environmental or earth science. My friends who teach at 2 year schools teach a lot of intro biology. Other big courses at community colleges are pre-nursing courses like A&P and microbiology.
The biggest help to me in getting my job was the teaching experience I already had. Having served on a search committee at our very teaching-intensive school (research is 10-15% of our job), I would say that teaching experience and enthusiasm for the work of teaching were our most important criteria. In doing my job, having TAed, adjuncted a little, and observed good and bad teachers has made my life easier.
One of the most important skills as a college professor ultimately is Teaching What You Don't Know. So volunteer to TA a course outside of your comfort zone.
posted by hydropsyche at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2014
I ended up in a Biology department (at a 4 year school), and yes, there was some struggle to find the right way to count my credits to get up to 18 hours in Biology. Courses in, for instance, Botany and Entomology should totally count, but the initial analysis said that the courses had to have a Biology prefix, even though those courses were taken at a school without any graduate level courses in "Biology".
You will obviously need to check the community colleges you are applying to, but my experience is that there is much more demand for biology at the community college level than for environmental or earth science. My friends who teach at 2 year schools teach a lot of intro biology. Other big courses at community colleges are pre-nursing courses like A&P and microbiology.
The biggest help to me in getting my job was the teaching experience I already had. Having served on a search committee at our very teaching-intensive school (research is 10-15% of our job), I would say that teaching experience and enthusiasm for the work of teaching were our most important criteria. In doing my job, having TAed, adjuncted a little, and observed good and bad teachers has made my life easier.
One of the most important skills as a college professor ultimately is Teaching What You Don't Know. So volunteer to TA a course outside of your comfort zone.
posted by hydropsyche at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2014
Best answer: Another idea I just had: do you have summer support? If your school offers summer school classes, that is sometimes a way to get summer support and teaching experience--sometimes even teaching the whole class, not just TAing.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:27 AM on November 4, 2014
posted by hydropsyche at 11:27 AM on November 4, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
Being willing to teach night classes is a plus.
If you have other questions, please feel free to contact me.
posted by orsonet at 2:50 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]