The Official #1 Tennessee vs #19 Auburn Weekend Series Thread (Friday 7PM EST SEC NETWORK) (Saturday 7PM EST SEC NETWORK) (Sunday 1PM EST SEC NET+)

#5,930
#5,930
taylorvol said:
On a side note, how do like being a college professor? do you mind me asking generally what subjects you teach? I always thought it would be a fascinating career.
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Thanks for asking. Being a prof is a roller coaster in ways that are often invigorating but can be quite maddening! Most think primarily about teaching, but although very important, that is not the major component of my job. Most of my time is spent running my research lab, training students, writing grants, papers, etc. The grants are the most stressful part. We are expected to raise significant funds to support our research and pay our graduate students, but those grants are ridiculously competitive. You bust your butt to submit a proposal package that is altogether ~50 pages, and then you wait ~ 6 months to get an email out of the blue one day saying yes or no. I recall last year we didn't get a grant I was hopeful for, but my boys and I happened to have tickets to a midweek game the next day, which made me feel much better, along with attending regionals a few weeks later, haha! :) We did recently land a new grant, which is quite a relief!

Mostly what I enjoy is the community; faculty, staff, and students. There are negative stereotypes about profs out there that don't really match my experience. Most profs I know take the responsibility of teaching and impacting the lives of young people very seriously. The students for the most part are great, outside of a few outliers that you have to deal with, who can make you bitter if you're not careful. I've had a number of former students go off to med school, grad school, etc. and it is very rewarding to see them excelling at their jobs and starting families. And, I am in chemistry, which is everybody's absolute favorite subject, of course!
 
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#5,933
#5,933
@1RBFjr said:
Tennessee dumped a good wrestling program, IRC, the 1980s.
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Yes sir the MatVols had a National Champion in 1985 and a bunch of AAs under Gray Simons. There were a bunch of SEC schools with good programs.

I volunteer for a collegiate tournament in Chattanooga and it is pretty funny seeing Missouri with their MAC patch, Boise State, Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State, South Dakota State, Northern Iowa with the BIG12 patch lol.
 
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#5,936
#5,936
Volprofch05 said:
Thanks for asking. Being a prof is a roller coaster in ways that are often invigorating but can be quite maddening! Most think primarily about teaching, but although very important, that is not the major component of my job. Most of my time is spent running my research lab, training students, writing grants, papers, etc. The grants are the most stressful part. We are expected to raise significant funds to support our research and pay our graduate students, but those grants are ridiculously competitive. You bust your butt to submit a proposal package that is altogether ~50 pages, and then you wait ~ 6 months to get an email out of the blue one day saying yes or no. I recall last year we didn't get a grant I was hopeful for, but my boys and I happened to have tickets to a midweek game the next day, which made me feel much better, along with attending regionals a few weeks later, haha! :) We did recently land a new grant, which is quite a relief!

Mostly what I enjoy is the community; faculty, staff, and students. There are negative stereotypes about profs out there that don't really match my experience. Most profs I know take the responsibility of teaching and impacting the lives of young people very seriously. The students for the most part are great, outside of a few outliers that you have to deal with, who can make you bitter if you're not careful. I've had a number of former students go off to med school, grad school, etc. and it is very rewarding to see them excelling at their jobs and starting families. And, I am in chemistry, which is everybody's absolute favorite subject, of course!
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That’s awesome! Thanks for making an impact and investing in students. I’m sure it has its ups and downs but bet the sense of community and watching students grow is very rewarding. GBO.
 
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#5,939
#5,939
taylorvol said:
That’s awesome! Thanks for making an impact and investing in students. I’m sure it has its ups and downs but bet the sense of community and watching students grow is very rewarding. GBO.
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Thanks, appreciate it! Yeah, overall it’s a great gig. When my colleagues start to complain I point out that it could be a heck of a lot worse than how we have it!
 
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#5,941
#5,941
TheBigOne10 said:
Welcome to the world, Parker!!! 8 LBS, 9 oz and wild as a mink. A future God-fearing Tennessee Volunteer!!!!
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I remember watching a UT vs UF game at a local watering hole and a Vol fan couple had a toddler in a stroller. We were up at halftime but UF came back in the second half in the rain. The kid was raising all manners of hell. I reflected, so that’s how I was indoctrinated…
 
#5,950
#5,950
Volprofch05 said:
Thanks for asking. Being a prof is a roller coaster in ways that are often invigorating but can be quite maddening! Most think primarily about teaching, but although very important, that is not the major component of my job. Most of my time is spent running my research lab, training students, writing grants, papers, etc. The grants are the most stressful part. We are expected to raise significant funds to support our research and pay our graduate students, but those grants are ridiculously competitive. You bust your butt to submit a proposal package that is altogether ~50 pages, and then you wait ~ 6 months to get an email out of the blue one day saying yes or no. I recall last year we didn't get a grant I was hopeful for, but my boys and I happened to have tickets to a midweek game the next day, which made me feel much better, along with attending regionals a few weeks later, haha! :) We did recently land a new grant, which is quite a relief!

Mostly what I enjoy is the community; faculty, staff, and students. There are negative stereotypes about profs out there that don't really match my experience. Most profs I know take the responsibility of teaching and impacting the lives of young people very seriously. The students for the most part are great, outside of a few outliers that you have to deal with, who can make you bitter if you're not careful. I've had a number of former students go off to med school, grad school, etc. and it is very rewarding to see them excelling at their jobs and starting families. And, I am in chemistry, which is everybody's absolute favorite subject, of course!
Click to expand...
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Back in the day, I had Dr. Kleinfelter for general chemistry and Ronald Magid for organic chemistry.
 
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