Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Whatisthemostchallengingthingaboutyourjob
Balancing/managingtimecommitments.Mostpeoplethinkthatuniversityprofessorsare
teachers.Thisisabout1/3trueataresearchuniversitylikeNCState.Therestofourtimeis
spentwritingproposalsandpapers,preparingfor/attendingmeetings,developingnewwaysto
benefitourinstitution/profession,and,believeitornot,thinking.Newideasdon'talwaysjust
landinone'slap...theyaretheresultofdeepthinking/lengthydiscussionsthatoftenrequirelarge
uninterruptedblocksoftime.
2.Whatisthefavoritepartofyourjob
Watchingastudentcometocomprehendaconceptthatproveddifficultatfirst.
3.Whatistheaveragesalaryrangeofforapersonenteringthefield.Whatisthelongterm
range
Dependingonthediscipline,assistantprofessorsinengineeringnormallystartinthe$8090k
rangeandprogressuptothe$130170krange.
4.Whatisthebestwaytogetajobinthefield
EarnaPh.D.,pursueapostdoc,publishandpresent(toensurevisibility)one'sresearch,and
prayforanopening.Somepeoplespendalimitedamountoftimeinindustryoratanational
laboratoryforaddedexperience.Foreachopenpositionwehave,wetypicallyreceiveover200
wellqualifiedapplicants.
5.Whatistheminimaleducationrequiredtoenterthefield.Whatistherecommended
education.
Minimum:Ph.D.Recommended:seeabove.
6.Whataretherecommendcourseforhighschool.
Itreallydependsonthefieldofinterest.Certainly,oneneedsastellarundergraduaterecordtogo
ontograduateschooltoearnthePh.D.Thismeansdoingwellinallthegeneraleducation
courses,andsoIwouldrecommendtakingallthescienceandmathematicscoursesthatare
typicalinahighschoolcurriculum.Advancedplacementandinternationalbaccalaureatecourses
arethebestchoices.
7.Whataretheaveragecareerqualification
I'munsurewhatyoumeanhere.Toachievetherankofprofessor,oneneedstostartatthe
assistantlevelandthengetpromoted(withtenure)totheassociatelevel.Anotherpromotionis
neededtoachievetherankoffullprofessor.Thefirstpromotionisthemostdifficultandmany
donotpassthehurdleandleavetheuniversity.Itrequiressolidevidenceofdevelopingastrong
researchprogram,coupledwithexcellentteachingandservicetotheuniversityandone's
profession.Thesecondpromotionrequiresaninternationallyrenownscholarlyreputation.
8.Howisthefieldgrowingandbyhowmuch
Despiteissuesregardingreductionsinstatelevelappropriations,stateresearchuniversities
continuetogrow,whereassmall,teachingonlyuniversities/collegesaresufferingfromfinancial
shortcomings.Ican'tsaypreciselyhowmuch,butsuccessfulprograms(e.g.,engineering)
continuetoflourish.
9.Whatarethemostinterestingadvancementsinthefield
Inmyfield,stimuliresponsiveandfunctionalsoftmaterialsare,Ibelieve,themostinteresting
scientific/technologicaladvances.Suchmaterialsareoftenmechanicallyrobustandcanservein
awidevarietyofubiquitousapplicationswithoutaddingsignificantweight.
10.Whoarethemostimportantcompaniesinthefield
ThemajorindustrialplayersinmyfieldofresearchwouldbeExxonMobil,Dow,DowCorning,
BASF,DSM,DuPont,Eastman,Michelin,Kraton,andKuraray.