Favorite Parts of Working in Academia as an Assistant Professor
Michael, an Assistant Professor at UC Riverside, finds the continuous learning and discussion of interesting ideas most rewarding about his career. He also values the opportunities for travel, networking, and the personal fulfillment of mentoring students, stating that "it's really rewarding to...see them going to grad school or get jobs that they are excited about".
Higher Education, Research, Mentorship, Travel, Networking
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Michael Bates
Assistant Professor
University of California Riverside
University of Michigan
History & Economics Michigan State University, (PhD) "Michael Bates has over 6 years of experience in policy research, advising, and teaching across in the areas of labor economics, education, and econometrics.
Economics, History, Art History
Education
Education
Honors Student, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Continual learning and discussion of interesting ideas are major aspects of the job.
2. Opportunities for travel to seminars and conferences to meet interesting people and visit new places are perks of the job.
3. It is rewarding to mentor students, help them get into graduate school or find jobs, and see them succeed in their careers.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your specific industry?
The thing I like the most is that I'm continually learning. I'm also continually talking about ideas that I think are interesting. That's my main job, and that's nice.
There are perks too, like traveling to seminars and conferences. You get to meet a lot of interesting people and go to cool places. It's a nice way to experience it.
On the student side, it's really rewarding to write recommendations for people and see them going to grad school or getting jobs they're excited about. That part's cool, too.