The Benefits Teaching at a University or Research Institution

The Benefits of Teaching at a University or Research Institution
It is true that very few academics and scientists would deny the significant benefits of teaching, but it is also true that for many scholars teaching can at times feel like a task that prevents the progress of successful research and publication. Adopting a realistic and positive perspective on the matter can help resolve this apparent conflict. Yes, teaching certainly consumes time that could be spent conducting research or writing articles, but the benefits of teaching also enable and enhance both research and writing, as the following facts demonstrate.

• Attaining a teaching position at a university or other research institution provides not only a living salary, but also access to library and online resources that are necessary when conducting advanced research. Time off for research, funding for research assistants and university grants for travel and other expenses are also part of this attractive picture.
• A teaching position at an established research institution will earn you authority, respect and all that goes along with them. Faculty members of a university, for instance, are often considered for funding by bodies beyond the university and taken more seriously by scholarly publishers and the curators of museums, libraries and archives. It may therefore prove easier to fund, conduct and publish your research if you have an active teaching position.

• Teaching students can be immensely rewarding and produce a state of mind conducive to research progress. As a teacher you will share your knowledge and experience with others and watch their understanding grow as they become interested in the material. The contribution you can make in this way to the overall advancement of knowledge in your field is immeasurable.
• Instructing students and grading their work can teach you a great deal about the scholars who may be reading the research you publish. The problems your students encounter, the questions they ask, the errors they make and the new ideas they raise can obviously help you become a better teacher, but they can also help you become a better researcher and writer by letting you know what your readers may be thinking and how you might improve the procedures and reports of your research.
• Teaching connects you with enthusiastic and hardworking students who can prove immensely helpful with your research and writing projects. Advanced students interested in your field might be recruited to assist with the research and those who are especially adept at writing can be engaged to help proofread, format and perfect documents before they are submitted for publication or disseminated in other ways. The best students might even be solicited to contribute chapters or other material for essay collections that you edit. As you teach students and grade their work you will be able to detect their strengths and make good use of them while also helping those students exercise and hone their skills in ways that will serve their career and publication goals. If you are able to put a little extra money in the pockets of those who are studying with very tight budgets, the effect will be still more positive.