Most of the students are in a hurry to come before they can decide which department they will study at which university. “Which department should I study?”, “Which profession will allow me to live comfortably?”, “What should I do, how can I prepare myself for the future?” Many questions are running through their minds. Anyone who is interested in school and loves to read has a question that always crosses their minds: “Should I pursue an academic career ?”
So what is an academic career? How is it done? Let’s go in a question and answer format.
1) What is an academic career?
Academic career is the process of basing professional business life on learning and teaching. People who work on this subject by aiming to pursue an academic career become “academicians” after passing certain stages. This is a profession that is respected in the society, just like other professions.
2) What do academics do?
Academics are intellectuals who teach at universities and similar higher education institutions, do scientific research and reading, teach as they learn, and are not content with teaching. It is a very effective professional group in shaping the future with their work. They also play an important role in the construction of an enlightened future with the young people they share what they have learned.
3) What is the first thing to do to become an academic?
In order to become an academic, it is essential to first graduate from an undergraduate program. After that, you need to do a master’s degree. If we are talking about the necessary conditions before climbing the academic career ladder, we should examine what kind of conditions each step requires.
To become an academic, you must have a “with thesis” master’s degree. And in order to start a master’s with thesis, you need to take the ALES exam and get a successful score. Although the desired scores vary from university to university, it is possible to say that the lower limit is 70.
It also creates the steps required to start many dynamic masters such as foreign language score, GPA, reference letter. Although there are general rules about how to apply for a master’s degree, special conditions are determined by the university. For this reason, you should know in advance what kind of demands the place you will apply to and be prepared accordingly.
4) Is it free to get a master’s degree?
As mentioned above, this is a matter determined by universities. If you want to start this program at a private university, you have to pay the specified fee. However, in state universities, you are liable to pay the most tuition fees instead of high semester fees.
5) Where should you follow postgraduate postings?
Announcements and terms are published in each university’s own announcements. But it would be tiring to follow each university one by one. Therefore, it would be useful to follow the websites that mediate academic announcements.
6) Is it enough to do a master’s degree with thesis for academics?
We have said before that the first step to be taken while climbing the academic career ladder is to do a master’s degree with thesis. This is enough to start academia. Because the first step, which is generally required for research assistantship, is “doing a master’s degree”. But this is not enough to move forward. If you want to continue as an academic, you must start and continue the doctoral program.
7) How are academics selected? What exams are they subjected to?
If you want to become an academician, you must first follow the postings closely. Advertisements increase in certain periods, but it is never certain when “the announcement will be made”. If you are eligible for the advertisement published by the university, you must prepare the required documents and apply. Your “ALES score” and “YDS score” in the documents you send are calculated according to certain conditions and your rank among the applicants is announced.
If you succeed in this ranking, the university subjects you to a science exam. This science exam can be oral, written or both.
8) How much salary do academics get?
At the beginning of the road, it starts with a salary of 8 thousand TL. The longer the journey and the higher the title, the higher the salary. When it comes to the title of professor, the salary is at least 14 thousand TL. Of course, this salary increases as administrative titles are added as well as academic titles.
9) What are the advantages of being an academician?
- The most important advantage is that it is a profession adopted by the society. It gives the opportunity to take place in higher positions in terms of social status.
- You have the same rights as civil servants.
- It provides the opportunity to work with a high salary from the very beginning of the road.
- If you become an expert in your field, you will be known and valued by everyone.
- Since it is an innovative profession, you learn new information almost every day. Every work you do on your field of expertise will either make you more competent or allow you to contribute to the literature. This way, everyone wins.
- Being an academic is a profession that is accepted all over the world and is open to the world. Quality results occur when the researches of the studies (if the research does not include a very local universe) are in a global scale. In this way, the work grows with the snowball effect, and the society is benefited.
10) Are there any disadvantages?
Certainly. As in every profession, there are many disadvantages in academia. First of all, you should know that this profession is a very long journey. The academic career process is one of the places where you can be more successful the more you give of yourself. Patience and effort are the key points of this job. To experience its benefits, you have to accept that you have tons of books to read, lots of studies to study, and hard work hours ahead of you.
Also, if you want to create opportunities for yourself in academia and make a difference in order to make a difference, apart from your duties such as administrative duties and having to attend classes, you have to agree to reduce your social life to a minimum.
When unqualified approaches are added to these, it easily takes its place among very stressful jobs.
11) Which qualifications are required for academics?
The above shows what is actually needed. But if we need to summarize;
- Adapting to the intense work tempo,
- Loves to read and work
- Having the patience to research for hours,
- Open to critical thinking and development-loving,
- Communicating with their colleagues in order not to stay away from their field,
- Having a strong oratory in order to make an impact in the courses he attends,
- Persons with a strong pen to attract readers who love knowledge in any article they write will do their academic work properly and will enjoy doing it.
The academic career process, which includes difficulties like every profession, is not that difficult for its interested and loved ones. As long as you decide which profession and why you want to do it, the difficulties will certainly be overcome. As a graduate, I have only one humble advice: Determine well in advance not only your profession, but also the field you want to specialize in. Let the subject you study be your field of interest so that you enjoy reading and researching as much as I do.
Let’s leave the recommendations as a bonus for those who are interested:
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