Dangers and Hazards of Being a College Instructor
In his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Petersen writes about an encounter with a Red Cross bloodmobile worker who asked him, "Do you engage in hazardous work?" Petersen, a Presbyterian pastor, answered yes. The worker looked up at him, saw his clerical collar (this must have been a while back; it's hard to believe anyone would wear those anymore) and smiled. "I don't mean that kind of hazardous."
This story resonated with me a great deal in reference to my research. According to various websites, such as this one, http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/10-most-stressful-and-10-least-stressful-jobs-of-2013/, being a college professor is one of the least stressful and most rewarding jobs in the country.
This is an interesting assertion. I do find it rewarding and less stressful than say, an emergency room nurse, and I have often said that during training nurses are given some kind of pill to make them not hurry just because there is an emergency. They couldn't be running around everywhere. But to say that being a college professor is nonstressful and nonhazardous is to miss the daily life of the profession.
It is stressful in the following ways:
1. the bar for success keeps changing; the external demands keep getting higher.
2. The pay is not nearly as good as people think, considering the level of education needed. The source above says the median pay is less than $63,000; remember, that is median, not average.
3. the demands of students keep changing
4. Sometimes we are asked to be peacemakers, mediators, counsellors, administrators, and other jobs which we have not been educated for. I had two experience within a week where two students in the same class faced me with incredible, insurmountable personal problems.
5. The politics and backstabbing can overtake collegiality.
6. You can lose your job at any time if not tenured. If tenured, you are still subject to budget cuts. Tenure in higher education is not what people think it is.
So, no, it is not physically stressful, and there are many rewards, but the research I am doing is showing me that the emotional and personal and intellectual demands can be quite daunting.
This story resonated with me a great deal in reference to my research. According to various websites, such as this one, http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/10-most-stressful-and-10-least-stressful-jobs-of-2013/, being a college professor is one of the least stressful and most rewarding jobs in the country.
This is an interesting assertion. I do find it rewarding and less stressful than say, an emergency room nurse, and I have often said that during training nurses are given some kind of pill to make them not hurry just because there is an emergency. They couldn't be running around everywhere. But to say that being a college professor is nonstressful and nonhazardous is to miss the daily life of the profession.
It is stressful in the following ways:
1. the bar for success keeps changing; the external demands keep getting higher.
2. The pay is not nearly as good as people think, considering the level of education needed. The source above says the median pay is less than $63,000; remember, that is median, not average.
3. the demands of students keep changing
4. Sometimes we are asked to be peacemakers, mediators, counsellors, administrators, and other jobs which we have not been educated for. I had two experience within a week where two students in the same class faced me with incredible, insurmountable personal problems.
5. The politics and backstabbing can overtake collegiality.
6. You can lose your job at any time if not tenured. If tenured, you are still subject to budget cuts. Tenure in higher education is not what people think it is.
So, no, it is not physically stressful, and there are many rewards, but the research I am doing is showing me that the emotional and personal and intellectual demands can be quite daunting.
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