Introduction
Career day is a responsibility and an opportunity for students of the 9th and 10th grade to experience a day in the life of a professional. During this day, each student "shadows" or follows around and interviews a professional during their work day. Students can shadow anyone, from vetrinarians to fast food employees. Last year I shadowed an operator named Luis at the Carlsbad Wastewater treatment and recycling plant.
This year I decided to shadow Dr. Richard Albistegui-DuBois, a professor at palomar college. Dr. Richard Albistegui DuBois (or Dr. RAD as his students call him) teaches physiology and life science at Palomar.
This year I decided to shadow Dr. Richard Albistegui-DuBois, a professor at palomar college. Dr. Richard Albistegui DuBois (or Dr. RAD as his students call him) teaches physiology and life science at Palomar.
Above is a photo of me and Dr. RAD at Palomar College. Dr. RAD is a professor in Palomar's physiology department. He has worked there for 9 years and is well respected and liked by both his students and fellow faculty. He also has a mohawk. He told me that the reason for his flamboyant hairstyle was that he lost a bet to his students. He bet them that if the class's average score on any one assignment was an A or higher, they would get to give him a crazy hairstyle. He lost the bet. However, he admits that he actually likes having a mohawk and may keep the hairstyle.
Career Day Questions and Answers
Why did you choose this job?
When I started graduate research conducting research was my goal, which is the goal for most graduate students in the sciences. However, my perspective started to change when I had to assist a professor in his class. This is very common. Most graduate research students have to act as a teacher assistant, or TA. When I had to act as a TA I found I really enjoyed teaching. I took TA shifts repeatedly. The more I taught, the more I realized that I was better at teaching than research. Consequently, I decided to teach part time after I graduated. Part time teaching was fine but I wanted to be a full time teacher. Being a full time teacher is a better career. However, full time teaching positions are hard to get. I looked at colleges in several places that had an opening for a teacher with my area of expertise. I applied to them and waited to see who would accept me. Palomar offered me the job and that’s why I work here. Palomar is a great college. The students I teach are early in their career, mostly first and second year students. In my opinion, it’s more enjoyable to teach students at this stage in their career.
What are the educational requirements for your job?
The educational requirements vary from college to college. I believe the educational requirements also depend on your field. In my particular job, a Masters degree in Biology or a masters in an very similar field. Although only a masters degree is required, maybe half of the teachers in my department have phd’s or a doctorate. However, a phd is not required. Its a nice thing to have a phd but there is no stratification based on that. Although half of the people in my department have phd’s I can’t tell who. A phd is is not the most important thing about the job. Your success depends on how good a teacher you are, not your degree.
What school did you go to and what degree did you have?
I got my bachelors degree in biology in UC Santa Cruz I got my phd in neuroscience in UCLA. Although I teach physiology courses, I never got a physiology degree. However, I had a lot of the needed knowledge coming into the job and was able to learn the new material quite quickly. A good thing about having a phd is that you have can learn new things fast.
What are the responsibilities that your job requires of you?
Teaching is the primary responsibility and college service is my secondary one. Probably the biggest difference between community college and a university is research. Unlike a 4 year university, there is no obligation or expectation to do serious research at Palomar.
How many days a week do you work?
The formal schedule for faculty is often different than typical job. We all have a salary, or an annual pay rate. We only have an hourly pay rate, for extra work we do, for example teaching classes during the summer. I have to do 15 hours a week of in class time. For the most part, Palomar lets instructors choose what schedule they want. I have to teach 2 full physiology classes out of 6 total classes. As a result of being a tenured, I get first pick regarding which classes I want to teach. I have classes from Monday through Thursday, which is pretty normal for most professors. I also have committee work on Fridays. If I teach over that designated amount, I can get extra pay. I am also required to have 5 hours a week of office hours. This is a time where students can ask me questions or get out of class help with the course. Also, being a senior professor, I am expected to participate in committees and staff meetings. Some people do as much as 10 hours of committee work a week. Whenever someone is getting hired there are search committees. I am currently on a search committee to find a new College president. I have search committee meeting on Fridays. Then, grading takes up the rest of my time. Being a professor, only part of my schedule is rigidly fixed. The only scheduled work time is designated class time, office hours and committee meetings. Everything else is flexible.
What part of your job do you most enjoy?
Fortunately, I enjoy teaching in the classroom. Being a part of the class is generally the most enjoyable experience. Some days I just don’t want to come to work but I’ve never had a day when I go out in front of a class and can’t be cheerful to students. One of my colleagues tried to explain teaching. She said that it is almost like stand up comedy, you have a script, but you have to be able to think on your feet. A lot of us have our notes but, at the same time, there’s a lot of interaction with the class. Teaching has aspects of both improvisation and acting. I like to teach using do 60 to 70% of a script, although that can change on a moments notice. When I’m on the spot, I feel like I am best at impromptu analogy. There are lots of complex concepts that are hard for students to wrap their minds around and analogies can help them to understand a complex concept.
Another part of my job that I really like is that everyone is nice, even the administration. Also, Palomar has a tradition of faculty having power, which makes the atmosphere more relaxed. At Palomar, I have a lot of power about what material I teach in my class and how my department functions.
Do you have to work a lot of overtime?
My 2 classes end up as 18 hours of student contact time. 15 hours is required. So, I do a little overtime but not a lot. If you mean overtime as over 40 hours a week, it depends. For example, the beginning of semester requires a little less work outside the classroom and the workload at the end of the semester is heavier.
How many hours do you work?
I spend about 18 hours in class, face to face with the students.
Has this job been beneficial to you?
First, I get paid. But working as a Professor also has many other benefits. One of the things I try to explain to my students I that you cannot fully understand a concept unless you can teach it. Teaching helps you, in addition to your students, understand the material better. Teaching molecular biology has done more than anything else to deepen my own understanding of it. Its helped me alot to have to deal with students who dont think like I do, Its good to see different way people think. THis has been good to learn about new cultures. For example, the military cultural backgroundsince we have alot of students from camp peneldton.
Do you see yourself in the same job in five years? If not, what are the advancement opportunities?
I have been teaching for 9 years, and I love it. I don’t have anywhere else to go and I really enjoy being a professor at Palomar. I plan on staying here until they have to drag me out! I don't think anything will change, significantly except for one thing. At some point I will be the department chair. That is a job that rotates around the department and it will be my turn soon. I haven't worked as the department chair before so I do not entirely know what It entails. But, I know I have to hire part time faculty, manage the department's budget and handle any complaints. Palomar considered it to be a 60% release time job. This means that It is assumed that it takes up 60% of teaching hours. So I would not teach one of my 2 classes when I'm department chair. It's normally a 2 chair term. It you suck at the job, they might suggest you leave earlier or if you are good at it they may ask you to stay longer. For example the last department chair was held his position until very recently.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
- First, Dr Rad arrived on Campus a little before than 1:00 pm. Being a tenured professor who has worked at Palomar a long time and is familiar with the way Palomar operates, one of the things he has to do is be part of an evaluation committee. THe evaluation committee evaluates and helps out new professors. He has to make the new professor is doing everything correctly and is fit to be a professor at the College. He did this from 1:00-2:00 pm.
- Then, Dr. RAD went to the Academic Senate. The academic senate is a group of Professors who discuss current Palomar events and make decisions about matters that affect Palomar’s professionals and campus life. For example, some of the matters discussed at this senate meeting was the Latino Graduation celebration and creating online tutoring platforms for Palomar students. Some of the senate members were very dramatic and involved in the affairs discussed. Dr. RAD however, was more reserved. He listened attentively for the majority at the time. Dr. RAD did this from 2:00- pm.
- Next, Dr. RAD had office hours from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. At this time Dr. RAD was in his office, and talked to students who came to ask him questions or go over topics they need practice with. Dr. RAD’s class just had an exam, which resulted in not too many students using his office hours. During his time not talking to students, he spent time grading papers and writing lab protocols.
- Afterwords, Dr. RAD had a physiology class lecture from 5:30-7:00 Lecture. During this time
- Finally, Dr. RAD had a lab from 7:15-10:00. He was heading a lab. Use basic biohazard precautions. I would prefer to do this with student samples, but I may be supplying the samples.
Career Day Reflection
Shadowing Dr. RAD for Career day this year was a fun and educational experience. I not only learned about the content of his classes but also what being a university professor entails. I had some prior knowledge about professors and their work because my mom is a tenured professor. However, my mom works at a different university as Dr. RAD and it was interesting to see the differences and similarities between the way the two universities operate. I enjoyed shadowing him.