How to develop a teaching-focused career at Canadian post-secondary institutions

There is no single path to a teaching-focused career in post-secondary education. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows can build experience through teaching assistantships, guest lectures and sessional instructor positions. Industry professionals can bring valuable real-world expertise into the classroom, while others pursue staff roles supporting teaching and learning development. 

Regardless of the route, these positions are competitive, and understanding what makes a strong candidate is essential. I spoke with four professionals from different types of Canadian post-secondary institutions to explore their career journeys and gather practical advice for aspiring teaching-focused faculty and staff. 

Joel Rodgers: Supporting Teaching at a U15 University 

Joel Rodgers is coordinator, Graduate Student Professional Development in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. His role includes helping graduate students develop career skills and training teaching assistants (TAs) in effective instructional practices, including providing feedback and assessing student learning. 

His advice for aspiring educators includes: 

• Reflect on your teaching practice. Document your experiences, challenges, and growth as an instructor. Combine personal reflections with student feedback to understand how your teaching is perceived and identify opportunities to make courses more inclusive and engaging. 

• Build your network and seek feedback. Treat your teaching dossier as a marketing document that communicates your teaching philosophy through concrete examples. Ask faculty for feedback, connect with department chairs, explore campus teaching and learning resources, and join professional communities such as the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). 

• Broaden your definition of teaching experience. Look beyond your home institution. Teaching at smaller or remote institutions, mentoring students, organizing workshops, and facilitating hackathons can all demonstrate instructional ability. Building credibility and relationships within the teaching community is key. 

Haaris Mian: From Industry Professional to Teaching Professor 

Haaris Mian demonstrates that a PhD is not the only route into academia. An industry professional with practical expertise can bring tremendous value to students by connecting academic concepts with real-world applications. 

Now a tenured teaching professor in computer science at the University of Waterloo, Mr. Mian transitioned from industry after a meeting with an academic during a presentation led to an adjunct opportunity. He leveraged that experience into a tenure-track position. He now also runs Professor Town, a coaching service for industry professionals pursuing teaching careers. 

His recommendations are straightforward: 

• Identify your unique value proposition, whether it is expertise in a particular subject, technology, or teaching method.  

• Pursue every opportunity to teach, including guest lectures, TA positions, invited talks, and one-on-one mentoring. Avoid lengthy gaps in teaching experience, and demonstrate your effectiveness through pedagogical training, student feedback, and practical examples. 

• Networking is equally important. Connect with faculty members and department chairs, who often play key roles in recruitment. These interactions also provide opportunities to demonstrate collaboration and communication skills. 

On the growing influence of AI in education, Mr. Mian emphasizes that the human element of teaching is more important than ever. While AI can provide information and answer questions, instructors must help students evaluate information critically, challenge assumptions, and develop independent thinking. 

Ajmery Sultana: Teaching at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution 

Ajmery Sultana began her career as a wireless communications engineer in Bangladesh before transitioning into university teaching. Encouraged by a family member, she pursued a lecturer position and discovered a passion for education. After working as an assistant professor, she moved to Canada to pursue a PhD in electrical and computer engineering, gaining further experience through TA and sessional teaching positions. 

Now an assistant professor of computer science at Algoma University, Dr. Sultana has also taught at Ontario Tech University and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Her experience highlights how teaching approaches must adapt to institutional settings. Smaller universities often allow closer student-instructor relationships, while larger institutions may require more teaching assistance and varied instructional methods. At smaller institutions, faculty may also need to teach outside their immediate areas of expertise, making adaptability essential. 

Dr. Sultana recommends to: 

• Align your teaching expertise with institutional needs. Understand the student population, available resources, and teaching priorities of the institution. 

• Invest in professional development. Certificate courses in teaching and feedback from TMU’s Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning helped strengthen her teaching portfolio. 

• Demonstrate practical and inclusive teaching. Search committees value strong teaching demonstrations, evidence of prior experience, and the ability to connect disciplinary knowledge with real-world problems. 

• Build experience early. Pursue instructor opportunities, volunteer with student organizations, and participate in professional communities such as IEEE to develop teaching, service, and outreach experience. 

Having served on faculty search committees, Dr. Sultana stresses that the strongest candidates demonstrate these qualities consistently across their application materials, rather than relying on research credentials alone. 

Danny Smith: From Industry to Polytechnic Education 

Danny Smith’s route into teaching began in marketing, where he worked for several agencies before moving into higher education roles in eLearning, teaching innovation, IT management and student affairs, eventually becoming a faculty member. Mr. Smith currently is special projects advisor for AI Academic Integration at George Brown Polytechnic. Teaching at a polytechnic offers opportunities for hands-on instruction and meaningful student engagement but also requires adaptability. Students bring diverse cultural, educational, and financial backgrounds, as well as different levels of experience and motivation. 

He notes that for part-time faculty roles, colleges increasingly value graduate education combined with relevant industry experience, while prior teaching experience strengthens an application.  

His advice is to: 

• Contact college associate deans directly, communicate your interest concisely, and identify three to five courses you could teach immediately, along with others you could teach after preparation. Building relationships with faculty, including through LinkedIn, can also help establish credibility. 

• Incorporate UDL principles and use AI thoughtfully as a learning and assessment tool, while emphasizing ethical and responsible use.  

• Make your marketing assignments culturally inclusive by allowing students to explore brands from anywhere in the world. This encourages knowledge-sharing and enriches everyone’s learning experience. 

• Don’t overlook colleges and polytechnics. Smaller classrooms foster meaningful instructor-student relationships, and students are often innovative, talented individuals making important contributions to society. 

Key Takeaways: Building Your Teaching Career 

Although these four professionals followed different paths, their advice reveals several common themes. Whether you are a graduate student, postdoc, or industry professional, consider these strategies: 

1. Start early: Build a teaching portfolio through TA positions, guest lectures, mentoring, workshops, and sessional teaching. 

2. Invest in development: Take advantage of teaching certificates, institutional teaching and learning centres, and professional organizations. 

3. Make your teaching visible: Document your experiences, collect student feedback, and use concrete examples to demonstrate your effectiveness. 

4. Network strategically: Connect with faculty, department chairs, Associate Deans, and teaching communities to learn about opportunities and establish credibility. 

5. Be adaptable and inclusive: Understand the institution and its students, embrace diverse perspectives, and connect classroom learning to real-world challenges. 

A teaching-focused career can take many forms, and there is no single formula for success. The common thread is a willingness to develop your teaching practice, build meaningful connections, and demonstrate the value you bring to students and institutions. Start gaining experience early, stay open to unconventional opportunities, and let your passion for teaching translate into practice.