After 17 years on this job, I am slowly figuring out the actual job description of a University Professor.
You were told that the job of a University Professor consists of responsibilities in three areas: Research, Teaching, and Service. But they don't give you the actual list of skills it takes to do the job. I am figuring out the list of roles that I need to play in my daily job. It consists of the following:
- Researcher
- Teacher, with responsibilities of being a classroom instructor and a course developer
- Mentor for postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate research students
- Writer
- Grant specialist and budget specialist
- Committee organizer
- Project manager
- Conference organizer
- Public speaker; motivational speaker
- Student counselor and psychologist
- Recruiter
- Website builder, webmaster, and web content manager
- Reviewer for journal papers, grant proposals, expert panels, to evaluate performance of junior faculty
- Letter writer
- Coordinator for outreach events, ice cream social, etc...
- Event organizer
- Lobbyist
- Spokesperson of your research project
- Travel agent to find and book business trips
- Editor for research journals and students' dissertations
What else am I missing?
No wonder I always feel a deep sense of inadequacy in this job; I am forever procrastinating and perpetually trying to catch up with my responsibilities.