My Journey into Lecturing Job With Taraba State University.
I have a strong passion for teaching job. During my first year of PhD studies, I walked into the office of the Registrar, Prof. Lucas Joseph, who was then a Dr. While in his office, he was attending to undergraduate students on various issues related to the new admission released. I had to wait for over an hour due to the number of students. When I finally got to see him, he warmly welcomed me with a smile, assuming I was a new undergraduate student, likely due to the fact that Iam young and I have small stature. He began by asking, "Do you also want to change the course you were given?" I explained to him that I was a first-year PhD student and that I was there to discuss my interest in a lecturing job. He requested that I present my application, but unfortunately, I had carelessly walked into his office without application, so I provided my CV instead.
Upon reviewing my CV, he said, "Babylon, you have clearly worked hard, and I am pleased to see your interest in lecturing." As it was already around 5:00pm, he suggested, "Please come back tomorrow around 10:00am with an application. When you arrive, please inform the secretary that I asked you to come by 10:00am." He mentioned this because his office was always filled with students waiting to address their concerns, and he didn't want me to join the long queue.
I met him with my application the next day, and he told me that I should stay in touch to know about the status of my application. He connected me with one of his staff, Elijah, so that I could easily reach out either to him directly or to Elijah. Few months after the application, I found myself at the university employed as a lecturer. During the orientation, he specifically said, "Babylon, you are hardworking. If you sustain the same tempo, you will become a professor at a young age." Prof. Lucas ways of encouraging someone is soft but very deep.
After some years in the career, as time passed, I discovered that the profession is different from what I initially expected. The stress is unbearable, with very little income that can't cater for a family's needs, "But if anyone does not provide for his family especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than unbeliever, 1 Timothy 5:8".
On several occasions, I thought of changing career with deep focus on switching to NGO job; Prof Elkanah Sambo refused this idea and rebuked me when I shared this thought with him. Beyond conviction, my PhD supervisor whom I see as a mother (Prof Becky) won't be happy to hear this thought, so I kept it away from her. For the number of years I have spent so far, few things kept me in the profession till date; the passion for the job is still alive and great mentors like Prof Lucas and others are still in, maybe there will be light at the end of the tunnel. When gifted mentors that are filled with wisdom are still in the profession, younger ones like me should give the process a benefit of doubt.
Some people are destiny helpers, and even within my career path, I am privileged to cross paths with them, including Prof Lucas and many others. My network is more of people that have gone ahead of me (mentors) than peers (mates), which gives me assurance that I am not blind on this career journey. I have more professors in my network than clergymen, more professors than politicians, and more professors than relatives. I have more professors in my network than any other group of individuals. All this is because of the career path I have chosen and I don't joke with mentorship.
Dear young lecturers and prospective lecturers, some of you have more of clergymen in your network, some have more of politicians, some have more of relatives, and so on. How is this connected to your purpose? How is this network linked to your career?
The profession is not as I expected and is not palatable, but there are no better mentors than professors especially for individuals that chooses this path; all other careers should envy lecturers for this rare privilege. However, if you have joined this career and you have not been utilizing this great opportunity (mentorship), I wonder what other benefit you have been getting from this job...
Babylon Philemon, PhD
