Career profile Philosophy Professor

Table of Contents

• What does a Philosophy Professor do?
• What is a typical salary for a Philosophy Professor?
• What personality traits are common among Philosophy Professors?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Philosophy Professors need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Philosophy Professor do?

Philosophy Professors teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology.

In addition, Philosophy Professors includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What kind of tasks does a Philosophy Professor perform regularly?

Philosophy Professors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, papers, and oral presentations.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations or assign this work to others.
• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts.
• Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, giving presentations at conferences, and serving on committees in professional associations.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Write articles and books.
• Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department heads.
• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in scholarly journals, books, or electronic media.
• Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
• Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
• Advise students on academic and vocational curricula, and on career issues.
• Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
• Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
• Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
• Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
• Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
• Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
• Participate in campus and community events.
• Act as advisers to student organizations.

The above responsibilities are specific to Philosophy Professors. More generally, Philosophy Professors are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Philosophy Professor salary?

What personality traits are common among Philosophy Professors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Philosophy Professor are usually higher in their Social, Artistic, and Investigative interests.

Philosophy Professors typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Philosophy Professors typically have strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Lastly, Philosophy Professors typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Philosophy Professor tend to value Achievement, Independence, and Recognition.

Most importantly, Philosophy Professors strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Philosophy Professors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Philosophy Professors strongly value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Philosophy Professors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as analytical thinking, independence, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Philosophy Professors, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Philosophy Professors need?

Many Philosophy Professors have earned a graduate degree. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a doctoral degree, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D..

Philosophy Professors may need some on-the-job training, but most candidates will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Educational degrees among Philosophy Professors

• 0.6% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 1.4% completed high school or secondary school
• 2.0% completed some college coursework
• 1.8% earned a Associate's degree
• 14.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 32.1% earned a Master's degree
• 47.4% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Philosophy Professors

Important Abilities needed by Philosophy Professors

Philosophy Professors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Philosophy Professors need abilities such as written comprehension, oral expression, and speech clarity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Philosophy Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Philosophy Professors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Philosophy Professors frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Philosophy Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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