Job Responsibilities
Lecturing to students, marking assignments,chair person of the
Library Committee, compiling manuals for various projects, in
charge of five literacy resource centres on five separate
university campuses, in charge of history honours sutdents
dissertaions, subhead of the History Department on my campus.
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Job Requirements
History was a popular subject until the government no longer paid a
subsidy for those students learning it, when our numbers sropped
sharlply. We then looked around for an alternative popular course
and came up with a tourist diploma. This was put together in a
hurry and although popular did not meet the needs of the industry
adequately.
THe education requirements varied, but a Master's degreee in
historyw as preferred. I only started teaching once I had my Ph.D
Once we started with affermative action, we also accepted
lecturers who only had an honours degree. The affirmative action
was not really a success in osme instances we employed black
graduates who had fled form South Africa during the apartheid
years, and then graduated form universities, at that time under
Soviet domination, such as in the GDR. They passed these studetns
very often not on account fo their competanece but because, as I
learnt later, they felt sorry for them. this was okay form their
point of view but left us with incompetent people who
theoretically were properly qualified.
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Uppers
The gratitude of the sutdents, when I managed to get them to put together a
decent dissertaion. Or when with my help they managed to pass. The fellowship of
my cooleagues was also significant,as was the fact that the univeristy was so
diverse and in the apartheid years, one fo the few places oen could meet with and
tlak ot people who were black without being viewed suspiciously by the police.
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Downers
The lack of courage displayed by both my fellow lecturers andmy
superiors when faced with striking students and other problems fo
that nature. Very few if any showed any backbone ro were prpared
to have any principles when it came to the crunch.
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Lifestyle
The dress code was smart casual. Not too down at heel. the sutendts did nto like
a lecturer whow as nto well dressed, at least aomong the women. The hours were
not honourous, one had to appear at various fundtions, but generally these were a
pleasure to attend. A great perk of the job was that if one produced a sufficient
number of papers, then one could have an overseas trip to a conference paid for
by the unviersity. ALso they paid for my research to places like Moscow.
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Compensation
The salary for the position was a reasonably good one for a
university,although in general working at a university will not
make one rich. The benefits are reasonably long holdays, medical
aid subsidised, children's education subsidised, and other social
welfare benefits rather than an outright good salary.
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Advice to Jobseekers
The job outlook as a hsitorican at present all over the world is
not a good one. History as a subject has been tkane over by the
social sciences and literary critics and until it ocmes out fo
this straight jacket, I would nto encourage anyone to enter the
field. Jobe oppertunties are very limited in South Africa,the
situation bieng that if you are white, the chances of gettign
ajob in the filed are impossible. In other countries, like
AUstralia, one has to go with the latest literary theories to get
any kind of chance. I would advise anyone to steer clear of the
filed at present.
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