Career profile Engineering Professor

Table of Contents

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

What does an Engineering Professor do?

Engineering Professors teach courses pertaining to the application of physical laws and principles of engineering for the development of machines, materials, instruments, processes, and services.

In addition, Engineering Professors

• includes teachers of subjects such as chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical, mineral, and petroleum engineering,
• includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What kind of tasks does an Engineering Professor perform regularly?

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

• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in scholarly journals, books, or electronic media.
• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts.
• Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, projects, assignments, and papers.
• Write grant proposals to procure external research funding and review others' grant proposals.
• Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
• 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.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate class discussions.
• Supervise students' laboratory work.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations or assign this work to others.
• Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
• Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
• Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
• Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
• Advise students on academic and vocational curricula, and on career issues.
• Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.

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

What is an Engineering Professor salary?

What personality traits are common among Engineering 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 an Engineering Professor are usually higher in their Social, Investigative, and Realistic interests.

Engineering 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, Engineering Professors typically have strong 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.

Lastly, Engineering Professors typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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 an Engineering Professor tend to value Achievement, Recognition, and Independence.

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

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

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 Engineering Professors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as analytical thinking, integrity, and initiative.

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

What education and training do Engineering Professors need?

Many Engineering 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..

Engineering 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 Engineering 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 Engineering Professors

Important Abilities needed by Engineering Professors

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

Critical Skills needed by Engineering 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.

Engineering Professors frequently use skills like speaking, learning strategies, and instructing to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Engineering 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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