Lecturer

Job overview
Lecturers provide tuition and guidance to students, usually in tertiary education, by addressing them by word of mouth.

Normally they lecture to groups of students.

What do people do in this occupation?
Usually, lecturers are responsible for the preparation and presentation of lectures.

They have to prepare examination papers, invigilate at examinations and mark the papers.

They may be working with a large group of students, or may even be giving individual training to a single student and guiding senior students in their independent study research.

To stay well informed, lecturers should continually read publications, papers and articles relating to their field of study.

Research is a very important aspect of most lecturers?' ?work and they often act as research counsellors to their students.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Intellect and an interest and expertise in a particular field of study are essential.

As lecturers mostly work with young people, they need to be patient and tactful and able to present their subject-matter in an interesting and compelling way.

Because of the degree of freedom they experience in their working day, a sense of responsibility is important.

What qualifications are needed?
Specific qualifications will depend on a lecturer's particular subject, but a university first degree is the usual basic qualification, and more often than not will be supplemented by postgraduate studies.