How to Become a Professor in India after 12th?

Professors play an important role in the educational system of India by imparting knowledge and guidance to students in institutes of higher learning such as universities and colleges. As a Professor, you will be responsible for a wide range of responsibilities and roles such as supervising and guiding students, conducting research, developing course materials, and making contributions to academic publications. This article will guide Indian students such as you on how to become a Professor after completing your 12th-standard education.

Understanding the Role of a Professor

• Definition and scope of a professor in the academic field: A Professor can be defined as a scholar who has a doctorate or an equivalent of the same and teaches in the likes of universities and colleges.
• Key responsibilities: The most important responsibilities fulfilled by these professionals are teaching and mentorship of the students under their watch and conducting research that helps the academic domain that they specialize in.
• Impact of professors on education and society: The values of Professors including the way they go about their work have a major influence on the choices of the students being taught by them. They also affect their motivations and aspirations and make their lives more meaningful. This inspires students to ask themselves how do I become a professor.

Educational Pathway to Become a Professor

• Basic educational qualifications required after 12th for aspiring professors: So, how do you become a Professor? Well, in terms of educational qualifications you need a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree in your chosen stream preceded by a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in the same.
• Importance of choosing the right subjects in 12th standard: Your journey to become a Professor when you grow up must start as early as possible in life. This means that you must choose the right subject in Class 12 itself. It can be any stream – Arts, Science, or Commerce – but it ideally must be something that you are good at.

Steps to Become a Professor

• Overview of the pathway to becoming a professor after 12th: Do you want to know how to become a Professor after Class 12? In that case, you must follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Determining your specialization and earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the same
2. Passing competitive exams
3. Obtaining a doctoral degree
4. Gaining practical experience in the domain
5. Researching and publishing academic work
6. Searching and applying to academic positions

• Importance of higher education: Remember that choosing the right courses and specializations at the Bachelor’s level helps you in this pursuit by providing you with a firm grounding on the basics of the subject in which you wish to specialize.

Eligibility Criteria for Assistant Professorship

• Requirements for NET and SET: First of all, you must be an Indian citizen to appear in NET (National Eligibility Test) and SET (State Eligibility Test). You must have completed your Master’s degree with 55% marks at least, provided you are a general candidate. If you are an SC (Scheduled Caste), an ST (Scheduled Tribe), a PWD (Persons with Disabilities), or a Transgender candidate you will need 50% at least to appear in the test. There is no age limit or restriction on the number of attempts you can make in this particular context.
• Importance of qualifying NET/SET for entry-level teaching positions: When you pass any or both of these exams you become eligible to teach in educational institutions such as colleges and universities as an academician or a Professor.
• Alternative pathways: If you have a doctoral degree in your subject acquired through the regular mode you can become a Professor as well without having to appear in the aforementioned competitive examinations. You can also become a Professor of Practice provided you have worked in your role for at least 15 years or proven your expertise in the domain otherwise. This must have happened at a senior level though for your work experience to count in this regard.

Master's Degree and PhD programs

• Overview of Master’s degree programs: How to become a professor in India after 12th? Well, for starters you need a Master’s degree in your stream such as MA (Master of Arts), MSc (Master of Science), and M.Com (Master of Commerce) with a good academic record of at least 50 to 55% marks depending on your classification. This helps you become a Lecturer, an important milestone in this particular journey.
• Importance of pursuing a PhD for a career in academia: Having a PhD degree ensures that you are perceived as having the necessary knowledge and expertise to conduct research and teach at the university level.
• Choosing a research topic and supervisor for PhD studies: You must choose the right topic for your PhD for that will help you take a much-important step in achieving your goal of becoming a Professor. You also need the right Supervisor to mentor you throughout the trying process, to keep you engaged and motivated to complete your thesis, and to do the work the best.

National Eligibility Test (NET)

• Detailed explanation of the UGC NET exam for Assistant Professorship: The NET exam is conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency) on behalf of the UGC (University Grants Commission) to recruit Assistant Professors in different institutions and universities across India. The NET exam is conducted in June and in December every year.
• Syllabus and exam pattern: The exam has a couple of papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both are to be taken in the online mode but there is a difference here. Paper 2 is subject-specific and Paper 1, on the contrary, is common for all students. Paper 1 has 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) carrying 2 marks each and a total time of 1 hour. Paper 2 has twice the number of questions with each carrying the same mark and its duration is double as well! Paper 1 comprises the following subjects:

1. Teaching Aptitude
2. Research Aptitude
3. Comprehension
4. Communication
5. Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
6. Logical Reasoning
7. Data Interpretation
8. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
9. People, Development and Environment
10. Higher Education System

In Paper 2 the syllabus varies depending on the specific subject that you have selected.

• Tips for preparation and scoring well in the NET exam: You must first understand the pattern and the syllabus of the exam in detail before attempting it. You can use different study materials such as books, online resources, and journals to get ready for the same. You must also take part in regular mock tests and practice questions from previous years consistently to improve your preparation in this context.

State Eligibility Test (SET)

• Overview of State Eligibility Test (SET) for Assistant Professorship in specific states: The SET exam is conducted by various – not all – states in India by the respective state governments to judge the eligibility of a candidate to teach in institutions of higher education such as universities owned and operated by them.
• Exam details: The test is held only once a year and there are two separate sessions in this exam as opposed to the NET where you do not have any breaks. It has two papers – Paper I and Paper II with the same syllabus, scoring pattern, and marking as that of NET.
• Importance of preparing for SET alongside NET for broader teaching opportunities: Preparing for SET along with NET is a good step to take because it helps you widen your chances of employment by becoming eligible to work in colleges and universities that are run exclusively by the state governments in India.

Post-Doctoral Research and Fellowship programs

• Importance of post-doctoral research for career advancement in academia: The importance of post-Doctoral research and Fellowship programs lies in the fact that they offer you the chance to author a greater number of publications. This means that your chances of landing senior academic positions such as Assistant Professor become greater and you can receive more grant money as well.
• Fellowship programs: The criteria for becoming a Fellow depend on the institution where you are pursuing it. For example, in the India Fellow Program, you must be between 20 and 30 years old. You should have also completed your graduation – the discipline in which you did it is not important over here. At the very least, you should become one when the actual Fellowship begins. The biggest benefits of a Fellowship may be enumerated as below:

1. developing leadership ability and professional skills
2. gaining hands-on experience
3. gaining confidence to achieve your dream career
4. standing out as a candidate for promotions and jobs
5. developing cross-cultural awareness and competence
6. developing a professional network
7. getting assistance from peers
8. stronger sense of self and greater clarity of purpose
9. getting the chance to test careers before actually starting to work in them
10. gaining self-realization

The application process for Fellowship programs depends on the institution conducting the same. So, you have to visit the official website of the same and find out about the particulars from there only.

• Role of post-doctoral research in strengthening teaching and research credentials: Performing post-Doctoral research and pursuing Fellowship programs show the true depth of your research and knowledge. They demonstrate that you are active in the research domain and coming up with the latest developments in your subject. Thus, they also convince recruiters of your research and teaching credentials.

Career Path as a Professor

• Career progression from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and Professor: When you start working as a Professor you have to start in an entry-level position such as Assistant Professor. With time you can get promoted to posts such as Associate Professor and Professor based on your experience and your performance. There is also a good chance that you can retire as a Chancellor or Dean of a university as well.
• Opportunities for research grants, collaborations, and publications: A key part of your career as a Professor would be the opportunities that you get in terms of research grants, publications, and collaborations. All these would help you further establish your credentials in your subject and academia in general.
• Responsibilities as a senior faculty member and academic leader: However, as an academic leader and a senior faculty member, you would have several responsibilities as well such as the following:

1. overseeing student admission to programs and courses
2. counseling students
3. developing course materials and class syllabi
4. taking part in meetings – departmental, committee, and faculty
5. amending and reviewing current teaching materials
6. giving guest lectures in other universities and colleges
7. supervising and teaching students at all levels including post-graduation and under-graduation
8. organizing public talks at public centers such as community halls and museums to promote opportunities for learning
9. conducting and preparing exams and evaluating the papers submitted therein
10. conducting research, investigating topics, and leading field trips
11. mentoring and training assistant professors
12. publishing and writing research reports, articles, papers, and books
13. assisting students with research work
14. attending conferences, networking with other academicians, and making presentations

Skills Required for Success in Academia

• Essential skills for professors: The following are the skills that you need to be a Professor or be successful in academia in general:

1. teaching efficiency
2. presentation skills
3. research proficiency
4. writing skills
5. communication skills
6. patience
7. creative teaching skills
8. research awareness

• Importance of continuous learning and professional development: It is important to keep developing yourself academically as a Professor as it helps you learn new techniques and skills. You can also learn new techniques and methods of teaching by taking part in professional development courses. This way, you also get a much better understanding of the ways to create lesson plans and other critical classroom resources.
• Tips for enhancing teaching methodologies and engaging students effectively: Apart from what we have said above, you should also follow principles of ideal behavior in the classroom and encourage initiative in your students. Always explain how you would want your students to behave and, most importantly, follow that yourself. Permit your students to take part actively in the learning process and use exercises and class discussions that support such initiatives.

Salary and Perks of a Professor in India

• Overview of salary structure for professors in India: Right now, Professors in India are earning an average annual salary of Rs 844,895. For Assistant Professors this figure comes to Rs 511,686 and for Adjunct Professors it is Rs 557,296 per year. An Associate Professor earns around Rs 1,110,222 each year.
• Additional perks: As a Professor you get to enjoy benefits such as stability, social status, excellent pay, and job security. In this profession, you can also get promoted to a Senior Professor, a much more prestigious profession, or get promoted to universities outside India. Apart from that, you can also travel to different parts of the world for journals and projects based on research along with conferences.

Challenges and Rewards of Being a Professor

• Challenges faced by professors in academic roles: The following are the biggest challenges faced by Professors in their line of work:

1. lack of collaboration
2. lack of funding
3. occupational burnout
4. differentiating instruction
5. disciplining students
6. ethical challenges
7. lack of time
8. lot of paperwork
9. time management

Rewards of contributing to knowledge dissemination and shaping future generations: As a Professor you can, through your research and teaching, disseminate knowledge that lays the foundation that plays a crucial role in shaping future generations and contributing to the prosperity and progress of the community as a whole.

Wrapping Up

So, if you are passionate about research and teaching, academically oriented, and want to know how to become a Professor we hope we have provided you with all the information that you could conceivably require in this particular direction. Remember that higher education after Class 12 is your first step toward a successful career as a Professor and for this, you should choose the best colleges and universities such as Amity Online.

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