What is it like to be a college professor? | Inside a tenure track faculty job

I love teaching, but it's only one part of my job! So what does a tenure-track professor at an R1 university do all day? Research, teaching, and service! Just a day in the life of a college professor. Also meetings. Lots of meetings. If you're a PhD student hoping to go on the academic job market, you may want to watch this first. :)

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[CaseyFieslerPhD]

Wonderful viewers! Someone told me that they interpreted this video to suggest I don't like or don't care about teaching. :( I hope that is not an impression I give off here at all! I love teaching, and if I didn't I would be an industry researcher and not a professor. If teaching is de-emphasized it's only to make the point that I'm *evaluated* more on research than teaching. But if a professor really does hate teaching, I hope they look for another job. <3

[stargirl]

now I am 15 years old girl. I will be 16 in 5 months and I am in the 11th grade as a student in Iraq. I decided a year ago that I want to become a university professor in the future in English literature, and this is the only job I would never doubt about, and I am very excited to build this. I also hope to travel to another country if I can, but in any case, I am a hard worker and a dreamer, so I believe that I can bear anything for the sake of my dream. Also, I loved this woman very much. She speaks slowly so that everyone understands what she is saying. I hope she continues to create Videos and I will definitely support you

[melaniejanecampbell]

Thank you so much for this video Casey! This is exactly the kind of video that I have been searching for as I will shortly be starting my PhD in the UK hoping to one day become a college professor. Your video gives great insight into the work of a college professor especially for those who are hoping to start an academic career. Thank you once again for your infectious enthusiasm and insight!!

[TheNickmeister]

Thank you for sharing this. I am a professor with academic and clinical responsibilities. Currently my workload is 70% clinical, 20% teaching, and 10% administrative (notice the lack of time dedicated to research). However, I am starting a new full-time academic position in July at a Medical School in upstate New York where my responsibilities will be 65% teaching, 25% research/administrative, and 10% service. I am really looking forward to this new position.

[MyriamLewkowicz]

Thanks for this video!! Fascinating to see how my job is exactly like yours, even if I am based in a French University! Of course the system is very different, in particular the way we are hired and evaluated, but the job is 100% the same! I am thinking of sharing your videos with my students... And I also experience all the time people asking me about what do I teach :-(

[amandanaseri]

Thank you for sharing all this info! It's great to hear from someone in academia who is living it! Really helpful to dispel myths about academia and helps those who are thinking about going into it to. Thank you again! Found this super helpful! I'm finishing my undergrad and am thinking about jumping into a Masters (I live in Canada, and would need to do an MA before a PhD for my field).

[bo_broadwater]

Hi! Great video! I am currently a postdoc and first-gen college student, so I have a difficult time explaining what a faculty position looks like to my family. Now I can just share this with them. Thank you for the great resource!

[bananamangoes]

Ok I just wanna say I was wandering around YouTube and I bumped into this beautiful channel. The happiest coincidence I experienced in a longggg time. Currently a Med student and I would love to have a job like this! Thank you soooo much for the valuable insight and info and hope joy always shines upon your days! Love youuu 🤍

[visuallanguage]

Very insightful video. I can tell that you're an awesome teacher, and bonus you are teaching me about teaching right now. So grateful to have found you!! Powerhouse! p.s. Love the teeny tiny Loki in the background. 💚

[ProfessorMommy]

So glad to find your video!, Casey! What a great video for doctoral students or people like me in tenure track!

[kentigar]

Thank you so much for this wonderful, human, joyful video!

[hassaantariq]

Loved watching the video. Its so much close to what I do. I work as a Lecturer and the only difference is that we are not expected to give a Research output! Hurrrayyyy! Sounds good but our employer balances that by making 50% service and 50% teaching! 😃

[vikitoriyaChihuahua]

Thank you, professor, for your videos!

[bonniejeandominguez]

How do I go from instructor to professor? All I have is a masters, but I love research! Everything about your job sounds perfect for me. I am doing research on my own and plan to present at a conference next year. This would be my second "non archival publication conference presentation."

[lsubandtrumpet]

Casey, I just received a job as a college instructor! I am super excited!

[jackjoyce]

I have always had a fear of professors. Why? because I have seen videos and heard rumours about them having legal rights to intimidate/bully and verbally abuse their students if they are not meeting their expectations when it comes to school work. Yes, we all had bad teachers in our academic careers, but some of my teachers in high school told me that professors are 10 times more strict that regular school teachers, which caused me to be afraid of them. I know, they are people just like us, but the thing that makes be terrified of professors is their academic freedom and tenure positions. I fear that these stick in their mind and they think they can do anything they want to their students without losing their job. that's a huge reason why I am terrified to go to college. in cinema, television, literature, and other forms of media about college, they would sometimes portray the professor as a bully to the students, which is another reason why I'm very scared of them. other silly stereotypes that I believed in where the fact that professors get annoyed if you ask questions during class, I don't know if office hours are just to ask questions relating to the class or if you need help/tutoring with school assignments or if you need help to study for a test or exam like regular teachers do. I'm not saying your are scary just because you are a professor, it's just that I have been trying my hardest to figure out if professors can act like normal teachers, support wise. for example, caring about students needs and struggles, respecting and being kind to students, offering help with academic work, getting to know their students as individuals, of course, professors are just normal people, but I was always terrified of a person's job title or position because I deeply fear that the person with a very high position like a university professor has the freedom to do anything they want to the student. most college students are very stressed because of the intense and strict pressure their professors put on them based on their academic performence. now I have learned that these scary thoughts I had are not true at all. I hope one day I can go to college and just remind myself that professors are basically teachers with a higher position and has other duties besides teaching. and I will always remind myself that they want you to succeed in your academics, they want to help you learn new things, they want to get to know you, and best of all, they want to see you just being yourself. I know that's not always the case, but it would be very nice for students to have a positive college experience.

[petluv]

Thank you for clarifying the role of tenure track faculty. I am a teaching faculty and program director. Yes we wear many hats. Thank you for sharing.

[AlMazingpittsburghmagician]

As a novice educator, thank you for sharing this.

[aveeno]

Thank you. This was rather informative. I am currently an adjunct and I hope to gain a tenure track position once I finish my doctorate.

[KWHo-ggec]

Love your videos! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I always wonder how it is like to be a professor / academic but I feel intimidated to ask my professor.