How to Become a Professor: A Complete Guide

How to Become a Professor: In India, teaching has always been considered a reputed profession as it offers an honourable career. For aspirants wondering how to be a professor, Professors are academic professionals who are responsible for providing high-level education and guidance to students of colleges or universities in distinct streams. A career as a professor can be rewarding but it takes several years to meet the requirements. Aspirants have to follow the step-by-step education process that aligns with this career. To become a Professor, candidates must complete their bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in a relevant subject from a recognized university.

It may take years of hard work and continuous effort to become a professor in India. Those who want to work full-time as a professor need to complete a 3-year or 4-year bachelor’s degree, and a 2-year master’s degree followed by passing the national-level or state-level competitive exams. Apart from these degrees, aspirants must also have several years of teaching and/ or research experience to become a professor. Additionally, they can also choose to study Ph.D. for a duration of 3 to 6 years after their master’s degree. If you are wondering how to become a professor in India, this article is just for you. Get here the requirements, skills, benefits, etc to have a successful career as a professor.

Also Read: How to Become a High School Teacher?

Who is a Professor?

Professors are teachers who specialize in certain topics and teach students at universities and colleges. They are placed at various positions within an educational institution depending upon their experience and qualifications. As experts in their respective fields, professors also engage in advanced research along with teaching, designing curricula, mentoring students, and evaluating academic performance. They are responsible for imparting knowledge, guiding students, and contributing to the academic community through their research and publications. Professors play an important role in shaping the intellectual and professional development of their students, fostering critical thinking, and advancing knowledge within their disciplines.

To become a Professor, a candidate must have a doctoral degree and other necessary qualifications. They should also clear UGC NET , SET, GATE exam , or CSIR NET to become a qualified Professor in India. The Professors develop course materials and assist graduate students with research work.

Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Professor

Read below to understand the step-by-step guide on how to become a Professor in India.

Get a Bachelor’s Degree

If you decide to become a professor when you are in your Class 11, then you can choose a stream that is fit for you - Science, Arts or Commerce. You need to pass your Class 12th board examination with a minimum of 75% to 85%. This will help you to enrol in a bachelor’s degree course of your choice. To become a professor, aspirants should maintain a good academic record and finish their bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 55% aggregate marks.

Obtain a Master’s Degree

Those who want to become a professor in the engineering field can take the GATE exam and enrol in a master’s degree course. While those from other streams can appear for entrance exams or can take direct admission based on the university to enrol in their desired course. Aspirants have to make sure that they pass the master’s degree with at least 55% to 60% aggregate marks. With a good score in the master’s degree, they can work as guest lecturers which will help them gain work experience and advance their career.

Clear Competitive Exams

Once you have obtained your master’s degree, to become a professor, you have to pass the NET, SET or CSIR NET exam. If you pass the NET exam, you will be eligible for assistant professor jobs in any college and university throughout the country, but the SET only gives you eligibility for assistant professor jobs within the state of which you cleared the exam. After passing the CSIR NET exam, candidates will be selected for a lecturer position or a junior research fellowship.

Pursue a Doctoral Degree

You can also enrol in a Ph.D. as having a doctoral degree will exempt you from appearing for the competitive exams and you can directly apply for a professor position in your desired college.

Get Practical Experience

If you want to enter the teaching profession, you should gain prior teaching experience. While completing your studies, you can get teaching experience by tutoring students, working as a part-time teacher or as a student instructor. You can also volunteer for a research role that might help teach a particular subject.

Apply for Academic Positions

You can apply for academic positions by searching for openings on college or university websites, online job boards, professional networking groups and social media. This will help you customise your resume and cover letter for every job application and you can even practise answering the questions that interviewers are most likely to ask during interviews.

Research and Academic Work

To improve in your field, you can write well-researched individual blogs, articles and papers and also contribute to academic blogs, websites, magazines and other publications. Aspirants should keep in mind that becoming a professor includes hard work. It is important to publish at least five high-quality papers or books to move from the post of an Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and further at least ten research publications to become a Professor.

Responsibilities of a Professor

Professors are responsible for educating and guiding students throughout their academic careers, especially at the college/university level. Students will receive most of the valuable advice and expertise during their degree courses from professors. Some of the primary responsibilities of a professor are:

• Teaching the course curriculum interacting with students and clearing their doubts.
• Planning sessions, lessons, assignments, etc. and also conducting assessments like tests, and quizzes, and grading students on their performance.
• Conducting research and experiments to further their knowledge and expertise on their subject.
• Supervising and guiding research students during their doctoral studies.
• Creating textbooks, study materials, etc. along with being involved in the curriculum-building process.

Types of Professors in India

Professors have immense scope in the teaching profession and they are classified based on several factors. The different types of professors in India are:

• Researcher - The job of a Researcher is to conduct research activities in their specialized stream and write papers on the specified conclusions.
• Assistant Professor - Assistant Professors guide and supervise the students, assist the senior Professors, provide academic support and overview the different elements of teaching.
• Associate Professor - The various responsibilities that an Associate Professor performs are conducting research activities, supervising students, teaching, attending conferences, etc. However, this role is considered among the beginner ranks of the teaching profession.
• HOD or Head of the Department - HOD is a professor role who is in charge of managing a leading particular education department. They are required to exercise leadership, demonstrate vision, and empower others in their faculty.

Also Read: How to Become a High School Teacher?

Qualifications Needed to Become a Professor in India

You can only become a professor if you have the necessary qualifications and all aspirants must be well-versed with the eligibility criteria. Check out the qualifications you will require to become a Professor in India.

• Bachelor’s Degree (mandatory)
• Master's Degree (mandatory)
• Doctoral Degree (optional) OR
• Competitive Exam Score

As we have already discussed before to become a professor, candidates need to pass a competitive exam. Understand in detail about these exams below:

1. National Eligibility Test (NET): The National Testing Agency, which is the NTA full form , which is working under the University Grants Commission (UGC), conducts the NET exam twice a year to select lecturers for colleges and universities all over the country.

2. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE): The GATE committee conducts the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering once a year. The GATE score is valid for three years and candidates can use the score to get admission into master's or doctoral programs.

3. State-Level Eligibility Test (SET): The NTA conducts the SET in English and vernacular languages once a year and passing the exam allows the candidates to work as a lecturer in a state-level college or university.

4. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) NET: The national-level CSIR NET exam is conducted by the NTA twice a year to select candidates from different science fields for lecturer positions or junior research fellowships.

Skills Required to Become a Professor

Apart from meeting the eligibility criteria, candidates who want to become professors need to develop some skills to pursue a career. The important skill sets that are required to become a professor are listed below:

• Teaching Skills
• Creative Teaching Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Writing Skills
• Patience
• Positive attitude
• Deep interest in the related subject
• Should be aware of writing research reports

How to Become a Professor after Class 12th

Students are not eligible to become professors right after completing class 12th. They need to complete higher education, get professional experience or pursue a PhD degree to become a professor. There are certain educational steps involved after Class 12 that will help you to become a professor.

• UG Level Degree: Certain steps are involved after Class 12 to become a professor in India. After completing Class 12, students might have to appear for entrance exams to get into their desired UG course. They will be offered seats based on their merit in the qualifying examination or through their entrance exam score.
• PG Level Degree: Students need to choose their subject during the master’s degree carefully after which they can study further for a PhD degree if they are interested in the research field. It takes at least 3-5 years in India to complete the PhD course.

Benefits of Becoming a Professor

Becoming a professor in India is a respectable profession that comes with significant benefits. The job prospects and salary scope of professors are great based on their experience. The professors in India are paid as per the 7th Pay Commission thus the TA, DA, Gross Salary, and Basic Salary remain the same for the professors in government institutions. These professionals get to interact with talented young minds of the future generations.

• Professors in India enjoy the advantages of stability, excellent pay structure, social reputation, and job security.
• There are various stages in a professor's job, so gradually new professors can get promoted to senior professors.
• A professor who is good enough in their job can be promoted to overseas universities. Not only that, they can also travel to different parts of the world for research projects and publishing journals.
• Based on the experience of a professor, they can get many opportunities to travel to various universities for guest lectures or conference visits.

Salary of a Professor

The Professors in India are paid as per the 7th Pay Commission hence the TA, DA Gross Salary, and Basic Salary remain the same for the Professors in government institutions. Aspirants may check the table below to learn more about the salary of a professor:

Becoming a professor in India is a remarkable journey driven by dedication, perseverance, and a genuine commitment to the education system. The journey to become a professor starts after Class 12 which involves getting a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, relevant experience, passing the competitive exams, or getting a PhD degree. There is no age limit for becoming a professor in India. However, some universities, colleges, and institutes may set a minimum age limit for the post of a professor.

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