Who is a Lecturer? And who is a Professor? While in lay terms, these are often used interchangeably - is there really a difference between the two? Let’s try and answer that. While they both operate in similar environments, lecturers and professors have diverse duties and responsibilities associated with each position. There are obvious distinctions in terms of qualifications, duties, and opportunities. Let’s understand Lecturer vs Professor and what differentiates them in the article…
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Lecturer: Lecturers teach in colleges much as professors do. They could be teaching both undergraduate and graduate students, though they more commonly take undergraduate classes. To teach, one does not need a PhD or a Master's degree. All they need is the necessary training, professional experience, or specialised knowledge. Lecturers usually have one-year contracts and their work often requires little to no service or research obligations. Besides being a lecturer, they can also pursue other professions at the same time. Lecturers usually only need to work part-time at the college or institution they are assigned to and have interests outside of teaching in higher education, such as a day job, a business initiative, or even completing a Master's degree in a different field.
Professor: Professors are full-time lecturers who work in the academic departments of colleges and universities to instruct students pursuing post-secondary degrees in their fields of expertise at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In an effort to advance the field and further their chosen speciality, they also carry out studies and research of their own. They regularly publish the reports and results of this in the form of different teaching resources. Academic institutions will choose lecturers on the basis of their professional merit, and having a PhD is not mandatory. Professors are either appointed on a non-tenure or temporary basis and recruited for a period of time between one and three years and only have the option of a permanent position after 5 to 7 years.
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Qualifications
Lecturer: The educational requirements for lecturers are quite flexible. Since they also work in fields outside of academia, they can impart their experience to their students, enriching them with their real-world experience. Thus, lectures are based more on applied research than on ideas found in books. Some lecturers have excellent skills and competence even with just a college diploma, though the majority go on to get a Master's degree. Universities could create an exception for them, allowing them to become lecturers without completing additional coursework.
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Professor: To be eligible for a professor post, a candidate must have a degree relating to their area that is higher than a college diploma, such as a Master's or PhD. If a professor is still finishing their PhD and needs more time to complete their degree, they may be allowed to start working part-time. Once they complete their doctorate, they can then go on to work as professors full-time and concentrate on both research and teaching. However, a terminal degree in their area of specialisation must be earned, along with several years of experience, before one can become a professor.
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Job Responsibilities
While many job responsibilities of a Lecturer and a Professor may be similar, there are some major differences here are well:
Lecturer: Considering that lecturers work fewer hours than professors, they might have less work to do at a college or university. Additionally, they typically teach three or four courses per semester, either moving on after one year or continuing to deliver the same courses to new cohorts.
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Professor: In comparison, a Professor holds a much more important and senior position in an academic institution. They are responsible for, in addition to delivering lectures and conducting assessments, making important decisions pertaining to the academic department, building the various courses that they or others might be teaching throughout the year, serving as academic counsellors to students, and designing the curriculum for certain degree programmes.
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The education sector is among the ones in the country that are growing the fastest with a high enrolment rate, creating a sizable market and a fantastic potential for professors and lecturers. However, which you choose to pursue depends on what your ultimate goals are. For those wanting to remain in academia and add to the existing body of knowledge through research, becoming a professor is obviously a better choice. However, if you are someone who is interested in teaching, but would still like to pursue your other interests such as a job or a business venture of your own - then explore the role of a lecturer. After all, it is a win-win since you get to explore your opportunities while also being able to impart your real-world learnings and experiences to students, giving them a much-needed practical perspective on the subject they are studying.
