David, that's funny we both entered higher education basically the same way. I was a cop for 30 years. Many of us had a part time job to make ends meet. Mine was I taught at a community college in Kansas. When I retired from law enforcement, I went to work at the university full time. We are both professors now.
I was in the field for 30 years before a became a professor. I wanted to give back to the next generation of students.
I am very passionate about transferring knowledge to my students, in particular those students who have the same interests and who wish to know more than taught in the class. The students are the source of my motivation.
I was passionate about research as well as for teaching.
Teaching gives me strength to carry out more research
Dear Isaac Gafa,
I suggest you to see links in topic.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwikn72s_YDaAhXBKFAKHYcZDi8QFghdMAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theodysseyonline.com%2Fteaching-most-important-profession&usg=AOvVaw2d10L_IvyI1jIrir5uY62z
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=18&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwikn72s_YDaAhXBKFAKHYcZDi8QFgipATAR&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcandidelabelle.teachforus.org%2F2011%2F08%2F24%2Fwhy-teaching-is-important%2F&usg=AOvVaw0mPtU89eWvjrxWUZncharz
I entered the profession of higher education in 1975 by accident. At the time, I was a police officer making $ 636 a month. I received a call from a community college nearby offering $ 770 a month and jumped on the opportunity. Little did I realize it would become a professional passion. Sometimes, accidents are fortunate.
David, that's funny we both entered higher education basically the same way. I was a cop for 30 years. Many of us had a part time job to make ends meet. Mine was I taught at a community college in Kansas. When I retired from law enforcement, I went to work at the university full time. We are both professors now.
Hi Isaac,
Before entering academia, in the 1990s, I worked as an analyst and integration/test engineer for both the commercial and defense sectors on several large-scale software systems. I started teaching at night to have a little extra money and to make some new networking contacts. After teaching my first course, I was hooked ... and the rest was history.
At the end of the 1990s, the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem came and went without the world ending thereby releasing many software folks into the job market. At the same time, globalization also spurred much software development to go overseas. After end of the Cold War and downsizing among some defense projects/companies, many more folks were interjected into the job market. And, when the "dot com" bubble popped, that also tossed even more folks into the job market ... so I became one of a bazillion folks looking for a job. Although I was still young at the time (about 30), I never had another interview or job offer in the software industry again.
So, for me, I fell back on teaching -- which I enjoyed much more (and still do). Although the software world paid better initially, much can be said for seeing someone's eyes when the proverbial "light bulb" clicks atop someone's noggin. Plus, the work hours and flexibility are far, far better than what I experienced in industry.
Have a great day!
--Adrian
It looks like this question grabbed the attention of several of us old guys (Greg, Adrian and myself). I do realize that no matter the path into the profession, what keeps us here is the passion for the student.
Passion for developing research methodolody yields to the understanding that if one does not teach research methodology well, development of human knowledge suffers for future generations, even if robots are doing the teaching.
Dennis
Dennis Mazur
Teaching is the most vibrant and satisfying job in the world. Every class is different. every day you feel different. Each student is different. Teaching is the most noble job in which you are enthusing young minds. A teacher is not only teach a subject or a topic but also should become a motivator, director, model, researcher, a friend, etc.. etc... A teacher should mould young minds.. Most important is a teacher should enjoy his teaching.. then only the students feel satisfactory. Teaching is not a profession. it is a passionate action.
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