Computerworld - Many people harbor dreams of pursuing some other career, but practicalities usually rule out experimenting with new types of work.
But information technology professionals who have long toyed with the idea of teaching are in luck. Many universities and colleges are seeking those who have real-world experience to conduct classes in technology or even business. You could teach those who want to learn programming, gain a vendor certification such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or better understand how business operates on the Web.
 | | | The College View: Dying to Meet You While schools look for certain characteristics in teachers, the foremost at the moment might be visibility. "Last January . . . I was desperate," says Dr. Lee Bender, chairman of the business and computer science division at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa. "About 10 days before the semester began, I had 10 sections of courses unstaffed in the computer area." A massive e-mail campaign helped him find the people he needed, but Bender's experience shows that instructors are in high demand. "The field is growing much faster than we're producing teachers," says MaryAnn Robbert, chairwoman of the computer information systems department at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass. "The industry is offering a lot more than we are, and the job market is hot." Desperation doesn't mean capitulation. Applicants must have the technical chops to teach their specialties, notes Robbert. Those who are generalists in IT should consider introductory classes, as higher-level instruction requires more depth of knowledge in a subject. Whatever the case, never embellish credentials. "Something that turns me off are phonies: people who come in and say 'I've done that,' and when you've talked to them, [they] have done nothing," Robbert says. There are always faculty members who will see through that. Robbert - and other deans and chairmen - say they also look for "an interest in teaching." Pay is typically far below what an experienced technologist can make, so colleges want to find teachers motivated by factors other than money. People can determine whether they have the bug by giving presentations and offering to perform free guest lectures. Remember, too, that as IT touches more aspects of life, there are teaching opportunities outside computer and business programs. "Information technology has become a key feature for us," says Gus Friedrich, dean of the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at the New Brunswick, N.J., campus of Rutgers University. That means opportunities for IT professionals, and also some necessary attitude adjustments. "One of the things I try to explain is that these students are really bright, but they're not the same as you," says Friedrich. "Don't sell them short, but don't make the assumption that they're just like you. You're going to have to bring them into [the subject]." |
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