From: mhopper@emperor.gatech.edu (Michael A. Hopper)
Newsgroups: sci.research.careers
Subject: Re: Academic Positions:  Nonresearch Universities
Summary: I LOVE TEACHING TOO!
Keywords: Tenure track, Teaching
Date: 27 Jul 92 20:04:19 GMT
Organization: Computer Engineering Research Lab, Georgia Tech.

In article <1992Jul26.214138.29417@menudo.uh.edu> smtuttle@cs.uh.edu ( ) writes:
->In article <1992Jul19.224348.3366@mailhost.ocs.mq.edu.au> wskelly@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au (William Skelly) writes:
->>>>William S. writes
->>>Chris G. writes
->>>>research) I don't think anyone goes through 6-10 years of
->>>>University to teach! If teaching was your primary interest,
->>>>you'd get a 2-4 year teaching degree and go and teach. You
->>>>get a PhD to do research.  Your question, from my perspective,
->>>>might better have been: Is it worth getting a Phd to only teach
->>>>and not do research?
->>>>
->>>My mentor from my undergrad days (ie. 3 months ago :-) ) went through
->>>6 years of grad school as a TA and never wanted to be a RA.  He loves
->>>to teach and was in demand to teach upper level labs.  The number
->(stuff cut)
->>>You cannot get a "2-4 year teaching degree" and teach at a University.
->(stuff cut)
->>
->>Yes, well I too, love to teach. And I have no shortage of TAing here
->>at Macquarie only they call it tutoring (same thing).  I too am in
->(stuff cut)
->>
->>My comment, that if your _primary_ interest is in teaching you'd go
->>and get a 2-4 year teaching degree still stands.  Omitting those
->>of us don't discover that teaching is our primary interest until
->>grad school (and one can teach outside the university envrionment),
->>I still think that nobody _does_ 7+ years in university to teach,
->>although that maybe how it turns out.
->
->Well --- that's exactly what I'm doing. I decided to go to graduate
->school specifically because I want to teach at the college level ---
->and I'm getting a Ph.D. only because many --- although not all ---
->such jobs that I see advertised in places like the back of the CACM
->prefer people with Ph.D's for such jobs.
->
->I'm not saying that I'm typical, I'm just saying that it *does*
->happen. And it never even occurred to me to get a 2-4 year teaching
->degree, even though I've known from the outset that teaching appeals
->to me far more than research. (I am working on becoming better at
->research, though. But it is a necessary evil, for my goals --- I know
->I'll be a better teacher for the effort ... I hope! 8-) )
->
->But then, I think my attitudes are about 180 degrees different from
->the "Universities should ideally be Research Labs without Teaching"
->anyway... 8-)
->
->--Sharon M. Tuttle
->  Department of Computer Science
->  University of Houston
->  smtuttle@cs.uh.edu

I LOVE to teach as well.  I had the unusual priviledge of teaching some
classes while working on my Master's degree.  I am now persuing a Ph.D. 
in EE so that I can teach EE at a University one day.  I do enjoy research 
but if I DID HAVE to choose between the two, I would choose teaching!  I
simply enjoy explaining how things work.

-Mike


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