Teaching, a Key to Career Advancement

By cathie | January 10, 2014

By R. David Silva

Expand Your Network Friends and Acquaintances

Why not try teaching? Education is multi-faceted in its influences. Last month we discussed the advantages of taking continuing education courses. Basically those advantages can be summarized as broadening one’s horizons.

If you find it difficult to stay awake when sitting in a classroom after a taxing day at work and yet you still see the advantages of continuing your education, try teaching in Continuing Education or college night courses. (From personal experience, I can assure you that you will remain wide awake as the instructor.) Whether you are continuing to learn in your career or have hit a wall in acquiring new skills, you might want to consider returning to the classroom. Here are ten advantages of investing some of your time and effort in teaching a course that utilizes your education and experiences.

1.   You will broaden your knowledge of the field by reading relevant articles and books to prepare for your lectures,
2.   You will meet people with different perspectives than those with whom you work,
3.   You will improve ability to organize and present your material,
4.   You will sharpen your intellectual abilities by having to respond to students’ questions,
5.   You will develop more skill in handling multi-tasking,
6.   You will improve your editing abilities as you grade and evaluate students’ papers,
7.   You will develop a better sense of understanding how people interpret your ideas and analyses,
8.   You will come to appreciate how to persuade and encourage people to achieve their goals,
9.   You will benefit from getting a fresher perspective on yourself, your work and your life, and
10.   You will have the opportunity to expand your network friends and acquaintances that may pay some dividends later in your career.

Starting to teach is time-consuming at first but many textbook publishers offer teaching aids that are of great assistance. Often schools are looking for new courses that are related to new trends or technical developments. You may have a course hiding in your vast experience; search for it and shop your idea to schools in your area. Good luck!