Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

Career Description: Teach courses in communications, such as organizational communications, public relations, radio/television broadcasting, and journalism.

Industry: Education, Training, and Library

Other Job Titles for Communications Teachers, Postsecondary:

• Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
• Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
• Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
• Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• First Interest High-Point: Primary-Rank Descriptiveness
• Second Interest High-Point: Secondary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness
• Third Interest High-Point: Tertiary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness

• Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
• Prepare course materials such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as public speaking, media criticism, and oral traditions.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
• Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
• Keep abreast of developments in their field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
• Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
• Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
• Select and obtain materials and supplies such as textbooks.
• Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
• Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
• Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
• Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
• Act as advisers to student organizations.
• Participate in campus and community events.
• Perform administrative duties such as serving as department head.
• Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
• Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
• Participate in campus and community events.
• Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
• Act as advisers to student organizations.
• Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
• Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
• Collaborate with other teachers and professionals in the development of instructional programs.
• Participate in publicity planning, community awareness efforts, and student recruitment.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Advise students on internships, prospective employers, and job placement services.
• Select and schedule class times to ensure maximum attendance.
• Write grants to obtain program funding.
• Provide disabled students with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
• Train and assist tutors and community literacy volunteers.
• Confer with leaders of government and community groups to coordinate student training or to find opportunities for students to fulfill curriculum requirements.
• Observe and evaluate the performance of other instructors.
• Write instructional articles on designated subjects.

Emerging Tasks

• Keep abreast of developments and technological advances in the communication field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
• Select, order, and maintain materials and supplies for teaching and research, such as textbooks, chemicals, and laboratory equipment.
• Serve on committees or in professional societies.
• Provide students course-related experiences (e.g., field trips) outside the classroom.
• Review papers for publication in journals.
• Write letters of recommendation for students applying to graduate school.

• Analyzing Data or Information: Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Coaching and Developing Others: Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Developing and Building Teams: Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• Developing Objectives and Strategies: Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• Documenting/Recording Information: Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment: Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information: Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others: Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Monitoring and Controlling Resources: Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment: Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Performing Administrative Activities: Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
• Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• Provide Consultation and Advice to Others: Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment: Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• Scheduling Work and Activities: Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• Selling or Influencing Others: Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
• Staffing Organizational Units: Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
• Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Detailed Work Activities

• advise governmental or industrial personnel
• advise students
• compile bibliographies of specialized materials
• conduct research on work-related topics
• convert information into instructional program
• design classroom presentations
• develop course or training objectives
• develop instructional materials
• direct and coordinate scientific research or investigative studies
• edit written material
• encourage group participation
• ensure correct grammar, punctuation, or spelling
• evaluate student performance
• interpret technical information for written materials
• maintain educational records, reports, or files
• make education presentations
• organize educational material or ideas
• organize journalistic or literary data
• prepare educational reports
• record student progress
• research information for news programs
• teach college level courses
• use computers to enter, access or retrieve educational data
• use interviewing procedures
• use journalistic interviewing techniques
• use knowledge of investigation techniques
• use library or online Internet research techniques
• use oral or written communication techniques
• use public speaking techniques
• use teaching techniques
• write research or project grant proposals
• write scholarly or technical research papers
• use library or online Internet research techniques
• use oral or written communication techniques
• use pollution control techniques
• use public speaking techniques
• use quantitative research methods
• use scientific research methodology
• use teaching techniques
• write research or project grant proposals
• write scholarly or technical research papers
• use teaching techniques
• write public sector or educational grant proposals
• write research or project grant proposals

Overall Experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Job Training
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Education
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Examples
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Average annual wage (2007) - $54,720.00

• n/a

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