Child genius is youngest college professor

[snopes]

A New York child genius who was 14 when she earned her bachelor's degree is the youngest college professor in history.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/...rofessor/4325/

[Eve MG]

I wonder if she'll have a tough time the first few years, when she's the same age as or younger than her students.

[Johnny Slick]

Maybe she'll become a prostitute like all the other child prodigies.

[Little Pink Pill]

Originally Posted by Eve MG

I wonder if she'll have a tough time the first few years, when she's the same age as or younger than her students.

I had students who were older than I was, and they had a harder time with it than I did. I wasn't a teenager, though. It would be a tough social situation for someone that young.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Isn't she a bit young to have a full-time job?

[Old goat]

The article said she was 18 when she was hired.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Old goat

The article said she was 18 when she was hired.

Ah yes, my mistake. I was reading the age she got her degree.

[Salamander]

I wonder if she has an older sister that works for the FBI?

[Eve MG]

Originally Posted by Tarquin Farquart

Ah yes, my mistake. I was reading the age she got her degree.

Yeah that's a bit confusing. Would she have been in graduate school for the next four years? Most college professors have a doctorate, right?

I can't find any information about her yet at the Guinness World Records site, they only have up to the 18th listed. This will probably be on next week's Records of the Week.

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Eve MG

Most college professors have a doctorate, right?

I would say it's a requirement.

[WonkoTheSane]

Depends. At the lower levels, a master's degree is sometimes enough.

Wonko

ETA: Strike that, apparently she's a full professor

[Towknie]

Originally Posted by Eve MG

I wonder if she'll have a tough time the first few years, when she's the same age as or younger than her students.

Hmmm.. Young, female, foreigner working in a Korean University? Without going into the dynamics of Korean universities and their faculties, I'd guess she will indeed have a difficult time.

[Eve MG]

Aha, look how easy that was: www.aliasabur.com

She does indeed have her PhD. And she appears to be a very interesting person with lots of other interests.

[my2pence]

Originally Posted by Eve MG

Aha, look how easy that was: www.aliasabur.com

She does indeed have her PhD. And she appears to be a very interesting person with lots of other interests.

Actually, her resume lists her as ABD. ABD is "All but Dissertation". In other words she has completed the coursework and required exams for her Ph.D., but has not completed and defended her dissertation. If you haven't completed your dissertation, you are not a Ph.D.

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by WonkoTheSane

Depends. At the lower levels, a master's degree is sometimes enough.

Wonko

ETA: Strike that, apparently she's a full professor

Definitely not a full professor. That's a senior ranking.

How it works in the U.S.:
Assistant professor: normally first tenure-track after Ph.D. post-docs, visiting professorships.
Associate professor: after 6-7 years as an assistant prof (in my field)assuming a steady research record, normally tenured
Full professor: last rung of the ladder, awarded for the fruits of years and years of research. Lots of people retire as associates, never having gone up for full.

A.B.D is *not* Ph.D.

[Troodon]

Heck, I'm A.B.D. by that definition and I still have 2 or 3 years of work left. A co-worker is too and he teaches a course at a local university (not the same one where he is a graduate student). He, however has an explicit masters degree and I don't.

[bthyb]

Is ABD really appropriate language for a resume/vitae? I wouldn't have put that on mine (when it was true) - I listed that I was currently a student at Blah Blah U with an estimated completion date of X.

ABD annoys me - but maybe it's just me.

[Chloe]

I think it varies by discipline. SO's assistant used to joke that she was ABCDE: all but courses, dissertation, exams. But in my field ABD is meaningful, though it's wrong to say PhD if you're not done. SO is always mocking ABD, but takes the concept of "candidacy" very seriously--and they seem to be exactly the same thing (we don't really have "candidacy," but have to fill out the forms).

[Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Chloe

How it works in the U.S.:

That's the standard at most "full" US universities (four-year accredited institutions with research programs and graduate degree offerings) but at universities without research, graduate degrees, or four-year degrees, the standard for "professorship" is of course much much less.

IMO two-year colleges really shouldn't offer the title at all - while they can of course have a very high quality of classwork and instruction, "professor" implies a level of long-term work in academia that can't be reached by someone instructing a few classes at a community college. But there's no external standard for the term "professor" so Smalltown College can hand them out like candy if they like.

And since most students aren't taught such arcane knowledge, they tend to call any college instructor "professor" and instructors who are not professors quickly get tired of correcting them. (Ellestar just rolls with it. I don't teach but get a lot of industry and government mail at my office to a "Dr. Alchemy.")

I started listing myself as "Ph.D. candidate" on my CV since getting my Masters and passing my Ph.D. preliminary exam; I don't like writing "ABD."

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

That's the standard at most "full" US universities (four-year accredited institutions with research programs and graduate degree offerings) but at universities without research, graduate degrees, or four-year degrees, the standard for "professorship" is of course much much less.

I'm not sure those would be termed "universities."