This is a very good video as far as I have watched it (I did not finish due to other things had to do).
http://www.speakupforblue.com/ocean-conservation-careers/what-its-like-to-be-a-professor-with-dr-bob-payne?goback=%2Egde_153501_member_234128418 My view (off top of head and in no particular order). Good things about being a professor: 1) teaching courses that interest you, 2) doing research that interests you, 3) working with ethusiastic students, 4) making a difference in the world. Bad things about being a professor: 1) teaching courses that don't interest you, 2) politics and ethics issues (some of the most ethical and least ethical people I've ever MET have been professors!, I guess we have a profession of extremes?). 3) flunking students who gave it their all, 4) finding a permanent job in a school with a community in which you fit (tons of people end up in the wrong schools, teaching the wrong courses for their background and training). Being a professor is a fantastic job regardless of if you are at a teaching or research school, but you need to be at an institution that has a defined stable mission (some change it with the wind), a robust dedicated faculty, realistic expectations for student recruitment, retention and achievement based on the institution's role, realistic expectations for research performance based on the resources and time available at the institution. I know I'm missing some things, but these are just my observations/opinions. We often talk about research vs teaching schools. What we should discuss as prospective faculty is good working environments vs bad ones. there is nothing worse than being at a school that fancies itself as a research center while teaching 18 hrs and doing piles of committee work with faculty who are completely burned out (although still good people). Good schools maintain faculty health so they don't get burned out and so they can perform their role well into retirement. Further, such schools keep your performance sufficient that you would be marketable if you wanted to leave, but you just don't want to leave. So, as you can see some of this is intangible. Malcolm -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences University of Missouri at Kansas City Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
