I worked the first part of my career as an engineer making a respectable salary.
I spent my evenings teaching high school algebra to community college students who had not learned algebra while in high school. The work was hard, the pay was lousy, but the experience was memorable and rewarding. I enjoyed working with students who had discovered that learning Algebra was important if they want to go further in their education.
I mentored high school and college students who were trying to figure out their next steps. My employer valued the mentoring, but government regulations required that I do it on my own time. I met with students during lunch hours and often stayed late to make up the time. The extra hours weren’t compensated, yet the work itself was deeply rewarding.
In both these cases, the experience was rewarding because I felt I was having a positive impact on the next generation.
At the end of my career, I was recruited to join Applied Technology Institute as their Science Advisor. ATI operates with a small core staff while serving a worldwide audience. The salary was significantly lower than what I had been earning, but I was also no longer carrying the full responsibilities of an engineering role. I accepted the position because I was transitioning out of full-time work and still had a great deal to offer. It gave me the chance to continue making a meaningful impact on young professionals advancing in their careers. I have never regretted the decision.
Since joining ATI, I have acquired the additional role of Instructor Liaison. One of my tasks in that position is finding and hiring new instructors for ATI.
It has been my observation that the most successful ATI instructors have been the ones that do it not for the paycheck, but rather, for the love of teaching and the love or helping the next generation succeed. Yes, the paycheck is nice, but that is not the primary reasons that our instructors teach.
Too often, when speaking to prospective new ATI instructors, they are surprised when I tell them about how much we pay our instructors. ATI pays their instructors a competitive fee when compared to other Technical Training companies. ATI does NOT pay our instructors an amount equivalent to what they would be making in their primary jobs. No Technical Training provider could stay in business if they paid Engineer Rates for Instructor services, its just not how the business model works for Technical Training Companies. Consequently, many of my conversations with prospective instructors end right after we discuss compensation. Some instructors just don’t understand.
So, who WOULD want to be an instructor for ATI?
It is sometimes a retired professional who suddenly has free time, and wants to make a little extra money to use spoiling the grandchildren. Or it is a retired professional who is simply looking for a way to stay current in professional world.
Sometimes, it is a professional who has unfortunately found themselves without a job and needs an income source to pay the bills.
But, it is almost always someone who simply LOVES teaching the next generation, and considers it fun and rewarding to interact with early professionals in their chosen field; teaching is their passion.
If you feel you fall into one of these categories, and you would like to investigate the possibility of teaching short courses for ATI, we would love to hear from you. ATI, and the world for that matter, needs more people who do things for the greater good, and not just for the money. Teachng is a noble profession. Contact Bob at Bob@aticourses.com