How to Become a Lecturer in Canada in 6 Steps
You can become a lecturer after studying and becoming an expert on a subject. This means that you want to share your knowledge with others by teaching. However, it requires expert knowledge in a field of study. Thus, you will need extra years of study and experience to become a master in your field. These years of studies and further reading will help you to effectively share your knowledge in a university environment as a lecturer.
Becoming a lecturer offers a good career path, especially if you enjoy academia and want to use your expertise to inspire a new generation of learners. In this article, you will learn how to become a lecturer in Canada and other information necessary for you to excel in the profession.
Who is a lecturer?
Lecturers teach courses to undergraduate and graduate students in universities and colleges. They also help students to conduct research at universities.
What are the duties of a university professor?
Your primary duties as a lecturer include but are not limited to the following:
- Teaching students, especially in universities or colleges in different academic areas, depending on their specialization
- Designing teaching curriculums and course content
- Assigning projects, giving assignments, exams, and tests for students to determine their academic performance
- Offering mental health support to students on issues relating to their academics
- Conducting systematic research on topics within their field, including posting articles on different subject matters under a field of study
Requirements for becoming a university professor
Becoming a lecturer in Canada requires a lot of academic achievements from you. It requires starting with a bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree and other academic requirements. You will need all these if you want to excel as a lecturer in Canada. The following are the basic requirements to become a lecturer in Canada:
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field
- A master’s degree in the field of specialization
- A doctorate in the field of specialization
- Licenses or professional certification may be required for professors teaching future practitioners in specific professionally regulated fields, such as medicine, engineering, architecture, psychology, or law.
- Years of experience as a teacher
Why is lecturing a promising career in Canada?
When you become a lecturer in Canada, you have a lot of benefits to enjoy. The salary, opportunities, and many other things come with the job. The following are the reasons why lecturing is a career in Canada:
Multiple employment opportunities
As a lecturer, you have multiple employment opportunities. For example, you can lecture in universities and work practice in your field of specialization. However, you may need a license to practice your profession. So, as a lecturer, you may not be limited to lecturing as you can take up other appointments and combine them with your lecturing job.
Opportunity for career growth
As a lecturer, you will have the opportunity to advance your career to the next level. You can study further to become a professor. However, this comes with many years of experience and expertise in your field. Once you obtain a doctorate and publish articles in your field, you can become a professor.
Good salary
Above all, you will earn a good salary as a lecturer in Canada. Many factors may affect your salary as a lecturer, including the type of university, either private or public, the field of study, and your years of experience. All these combine to determine your salary. Considering all these, the average salary for a lecturer in Canada is $79,921 per year.
Good job prospect
There is a great prospect when you become a lecturer in Canada. The good thing is that you can switch from being a secondary school teacher to becoming a lecturer. Secondly, you can even switch to related fields in your profession. More importantly, you can narrow your field to become an expert in a subfield of your area of specialization.
Skills for university professors
Apart from the technical skills gained through obtaining professional degrees, there are soft skills that professors need to perform their job effectively. Some of these soft skills are:
Communication skills
As a lecturer, you must have good communication skills. You need them to be able to communicate appropriately with their students. Your students need to understand you every time you speak to them. For instance, since you usually use technical terms and jargon, you have to break them down to the level of your students. Therefore, as a lecturer, you must be able to explain such technical terms for clarity.
In addition, you must also have good listening skills. As a lecturer, you must listen clearly to students who ask questions to provide accurate answers. Most students are curious and need to satisfy their curiosity. For this reason, you must listen to them carefully to understand them clearly. This way, you can answer their questions very well.
Solid reasoning and problem-solving skills
You will need both solid reasoning and problem-solving skills if you want to become a lecturer in Canada. Students will always come up to you with problems, and you must have these skills to give them the right solution to their problems.
Furthermore, you must always be looking for new materials in your field. You will be familiar with modern problem-solving methods in your field through this. So professors must be able to use their reasoning skills to understand new concepts to pass on the knowledge to students accurately.
Solid teaching skills
Your primary duty as a lecturer is to teach students. Therefore, you must have solid teaching skills as a lecturer. Otherwise, you won’t succeed in this field. The teaching skillset is central to the job of a lecturer.
Analytical skills
To become a lecturer in Canada, you will need excellent analytical skills. These skills help you to collect, organize, and deconstruct information to visualize specific patterns and draw logical conclusions. Some popular categories of analytical skills include logical reasoning, critical thinking, research, and data analysis.
How to become a lecturer in Canada in 6 steps
The following steps will help you to become a lecturer in Canada.
#1 Get a bachelor’s degree
Your first step to becoming a lecturer in Canada is to obtain a bachelor’s degree in your preferred subject area. For example, if you want to become a lecturer in the medical field, you can study for a bachelor’s degree in an area related to medicine.
Ensure the course you choose to study in your undergraduate or postgraduate program relates to what you want to teach as a professor. You will surely need a good GPA because it is necessary. While going through your undergraduate program, work closely with professors on specific projects so they can reflect in your resume.
#2 Participate in an assistantship
You can also participate in an assistantship while undergoing a bachelor’s degree. This program helps you to get the necessary experience and financial assistance. Different assistantships depend on the subject area you specialize in. For example, some assistantships involve collecting, documenting, formulating, and analyzing research data.
You can also help your lectures by marking and grading scripts, assignments, and projects or teaching in-class lectures. Assistantship programs provide you with experience, especially in the teaching area.
#3 Get a master’s degree or Ph.D.
Once you have decided on your area of specialization, the next move is to get an advanced degree in your area. Make sure you select a top-tier graduate school with an excellent reputation and brilliant lecturers and professors. This will help you after your studies, increasing your chances of becoming a lecturer.
Instead of a master’s degree, you can go for a doctorate. However, you can get both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in the area in which you want to specialize. Though getting a Ph.D. shows your proficiency in your area of specialization. You can still become a professor with a master’s degree.
#4 Gain experience
To become a lecturer in Canada, you will need a lot of teaching experience in addition to your academic achievements. Your experience can be as a tutor, an assistant lecturer, or a high school teacher. All these provide you with helpful insight into what teaching truly entails.
#5 Obtain necessary certifications and qualifications
Depending on your province or territory, you may need certifications and qualifications to become a lecturer. However, this may depend on your field. So, you must research to know if you need any certifications in your field and province. In addition, specific professionally regulated fields, such as medicine, law, architecture, psychology, or engineering, usually require aspiring professors to gain a practicing license.
#6 Publish texts or articles in your field
To advance your career to become a professor, you must publish texts and articles. This will show our level of experience and expertise in your area of specialization. To become a university professor, you must publish multiple works, from articles to printed books. Your chances of becoming a university professor are significantly higher if you include your works in your resume and if they’re well known.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to become a lecturer in Canada?
You may not need a license to become a lecturer in Canada. However, in some provinces, you may need specific certifications to work as a lecturer in professional fields like medicine, law, and engineering.
What is the difference between a lecturer and a professor?
While a professor is a leading expert in a teaching institution like a college or university, a lecturer is a person who delivers lectures to students.
Where can I work as a lecturer?
You can work in universities and colleges anywhere in Canada as a lecturer. You can as well work in other teaching institutions.
How much does a lecturer earn in Canada?
The average salary for a lecturer is $80401 per year in Canada. However, depending on your experience level, you can more or less than this figure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as a lecturer in Canada, you will have a lot of opportunities to advance in your career. But, achieving this will take a lot of time and hard work. For this reason, you must follow the guidelines above to become a lecturer in Canada.
