Educator

Teachers at two-year colleges are responsible for preparing lessons for two to four different classes, and they usually teach between four and five courses each semester. They, too, have mandatory professional development. In addition to their teaching duties they must serve on school committees dealing with such issues as hiring or technology. They are responsible to their department heads, deans, and other higher administrators, but they generally do not have to deal with parents.

Class sizes vary from twelve to thirty students, depending upon the subject and type of course being taught. Lecture courses, for example, tend to have higher enrollments than laboratory courses. For lab courses, educators sometimes may have to do their own set-up, if the department does not employ a laboratory technician. Some two-year schools hire their faculty with the possibility of tenure, whereas others offer only short-term contracts, typically for one to three years. Higher positions are in the administration.