Becoming a College Writing Professor
It is strange that Writing Arts is not a more common major. Given all the career options such as journalism,
copy editing, advertising, and speech writing, it seems that the major would be more popular. And
considering that writing is a prevalent skill even in careers not related to writing arts, one would think that more colleges
would offer it. While there are so many career choices that involve writing, there is one that prefaces the other: a writing
professor. Without writing professors, it would be difficult, if not almost impossible, for writers to
really perfect their skills and hone their craft. While Professor Sanford Tweedie, a Writing Arts Professor at Rowan
University, claims that the journey toward becoming a writing professor is long and arduous, it also has many benefits.
The RU Career Management Center has an online database for hundreds of professions and what they entail.
Unfortunately, because Writing Arts is a rare major, the closest professor information offered is for Communications. While
this isn’t exactly the same, the information is still fairly relevant. The Writing Arts major is part of the College of
Communications, after all.
According to the site, there are eight skills necessary for the job. These skills are helping, listening, managing time,
reading comprehension, listening, speaking, teaching, writing and authoring. What this means is that professors have to
be willing to listen to student’s needs/problems/questions etc. and be able to provide insightful feedback. In order to
accomplish the goals of the class (assignments, lessons, and other plans) a professors needs to be organized and
time-oriented to make sure that every topic that needs to be covered can be covered fully and sufficiently. Professors need
to have a great set of communication skills so that students can understand what they are learning and what the professor
expects of them from the class. And because the focus is on being a writing professor, it is extremely important that a
Professor can, in fact, write. (“Communications Professor” 2)
In his interview, Professor Tweedie vouched for these claims while mentioning a few additional qualities not listed on
the site. According to Professor Tweedie, it is also important for professors to care about their students and understand
where the students are coming from because one of the most important parts of the learning process is developing a
strong relationship that includes trust and clear communication between the professor and student. By doing so, it is much
easier for the professor to encompass the skills of listening to, communicating with, and helping the student. He also
claims that professors need to constantly reevaluate their pedagogy to see what is and isn’t working. They have to continue
to come up with fresh new ideas that will keep the students interested and they ultimately need to be fair. In a major where
the work is subjective, a professor has a greater hand in how the student does in class. If a biology professor marks an
answer as wrong on an exam but it’s actually right, a student can prove that they are right. If a professor in a subjective
major doesn’t like a piece, he or she can mark it accordingly. A student has the opportunity to argue why his or her piece is
“correct”, but it is much more difficult to prove. By keeping things fair, the professor/student relationship remains strong
(Tweedie).
Now that the qualities of a professor have been established, it is important to also consider the pros and cons of
being a writing professor. While a list specifically for a writing professor cannot be found, a blogger named
“Aidenofthetower” has produced a list of pros and cons for being a writer. While her credentials aren’t 100% legitimate (her
webpage lists several of her published pieces but nothing about her educational or professional background) her pros and
cons are insightful. And in order to be decide if being a writing professor is a good fit, one should determine first if he or she
wants to be a writer.
Aindenofthetower states that some of the pros of writing include having a creative outlet, gaining a sense of
satisfaction, and having the “hand of ‘god.’” Writers have the incredible ability and opportunity to express themselves
through prose. This can be just for fun or it can be a therapeutic way of relieving stress. Also, having others read and enjoy a
piece of work can give a writer a sense of accomplishment and validation. And finally, a writer has the ability to cultivate
settings in an imaginary world. They can give birth to and destroy various characters. Everything that happens in the story is
dependent on the writer. They have no limitations beside their own imagination. (Aidenofthetower 1)
Some of the cons she listed include poor compensation, loneliness, and rejection. Being a writer is not a terribly
lucrative profession. Some writers get lucky with an idea (note J.K. Rowling and Susan Collins) but for the most part, writers
don’t earn huge paychecks. The loneliness creeps in when the deadline for a manuscript draws nearer and a writer must
lock him or herself in a room and try to weave brilliance from nothing. As for rejection, it happens. A lot. (Aidenofthetower 1)
Even Steven King in his novel On Writing admits to being rejected several times over which is not encouraging to young
writers. Even a successful writer such as King gets rejected, so amateur writers should be prepared for that
disappointment. (King)
A website created by Top Colleges LLC offers a few pros and cons of being a professor. The pros include “becoming
an expert in something you love” and “helping shape young minds.” For those truly passionate about writing and being a
professor, it can be very fun and exciting to gain more knowledge of writing along with working alongside other experts.
Already having an interest in the topic of writing will make it much easier for those interested in the career to learn
pedagogical techniques and get involved with others who share the interest. And it is of course rewarding to see student’s
writing evolve and improve over time. (“Pros and Cons…” 1)
Professor Tweedie mentions in the interview that his favorite part of being a writing professor is helping students
improve their writing and getting to watch them gain awareness as writers. Also, by having the opportunity work with
enthusiastic students and colleagues, he notes that his own writing has improved. (Tweedie)
Perhaps the biggest con list on the site is the education necessary to be a writing professor. Grad school is
expensive and time consuming. Professor Tweedie remarks that he does not encourage students to go to grad school.
That is not to say that he tries to stop students from going, but he simply won’t suggest it. If a student comes to him asking
for advice, he will gladly offer it or direct the student toward someone else who can help him or her. He does of course offer
his own warning:
“Graduate school is something you spend years getting a degree for and you’ll probably teach for that university for low pay with no benefits. It destroys relationships in part that it takes up so much time and part that if you wanna go to a program you probably have to move and to get a job you probably have to move again. You don’t usually get to choose were you wanna go. The likelihood of a local job isn’t strong.Grad school is something you must really want to do. You can’t go into in
half-heartedly…People don’t finish. If they don’t finish, not all of them get jobs. And if they do, not all get tenure. I hear people all the time say, ‘Oh, I wanna be a professor, you guys have it so good,’ and I say, ‘Go ahead, have fun.’
One of my old professors said, ‘You do so much work to get tenure and then you have to do more work.’ There are so many hurdles. You really gotta wanna do it or else it’s really gonna make you miserable.” (Tweedie)
Just as AidenoftheTower mentioned in her cons for being a writer, going to grad school to become a professor also
means low pay, loneliness, and rejection.
After acknowledging the qualities of a professor and the pros and cons of being a writer and a professor, the final
step is discovering the steps necessary to becoming a professor. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published an
article on the “how to” for becoming a Post Secondary Teacher. Some colleges such as 2 year
community colleges and technical schools will hire candidates who just have a bachelors and a masters in their specific
field (in this case, writing, English, literature, and other related topics.) However, 4 year universities most often require
candidates to have a PhD. The process takes about six years on average. Obtaining the doctoral degree includes first
completing a bachelors and masters degree and completing original research for a doctoral dissertation. Students will
also be workshopping pieces, spending lots of time reading and researching, and writing and editing pieces for
publication. Throughout grad school, students build a body of work for use when applying for jobs. Having experience is
extremely helpful in the process of getting hired so it is recommended that candidates get experience as a teacher's
assistant while in grad school. ("How to Become a Post-Secondary Teacher" 1)
From this research it has been determined that the path to becoming a writing professor is marred by obstacles. It is
not a profession for those who aren’t willing to put the effort into it. Becoming a writing professor involves lots of
time, money and sacrifice. But for those who are passionate about writing and want to spark that passion in others, this
career and be very rewarding.