instructor

hvac technician

programmer analyst

proctor

Niagara College Canada

The week was divided by two parts, the first one assisting international students with immigration issues and give them support with personal problems (Adapting to Canadian life, learn how the college in Canada works, interact with Canadians, etc.). The second part was working in projects, such as creating the new recruitment and selection process, updating the training for different positions, etc.
In this job I learned how to work in a Canadian environment, how Canadians work and their practices, this was a great learning for me, because I want to continue my professional career in Canada and it was very important to learn their ways in a work place.
The management was very helpful and supportive, they taught me everything in the department and they supported me with everything. In a short period of time they trusted and handed specific projects to me.
My co-workers where great, it was a good team environment inside and outside of the office. They helped me every time I had a problem with something and the assisted me with the projects I was responsible for.
The hardest part was the beginning, getting used to how is work in this country, gaining the trust of my co-workers and the management. Also learning everything there is to know about the job as fast as possible so I can start giving results.

This job is amazing because every day is different. You never know what the day is going to bring you and that's the thing I loved the most. There was some office work and lots of multitasking, but there were many travel opportunities to go all over Ontario attending events and speaking to students about post secondary information and what we had to offer them. You work independently and also as part of a team. You have a great deal of responsibility as a recruiter and must ensure you maintain a professional image of yourself on and off the campus. You are the face of the college and you need to remember that. The hardest part of the job is the long, busy days and the huge amount of driving you have to do for two months in the fall. The most rewarding part of the job is helping to guide students into the best choice for them. To hear a grade 12 student say, "Wow I never knew I had that option available to me, thank you so much!", or, "I can't wait to go to Niagara after you came and did such a great presentation for my class." There are no words for how good it makes you feel to know you really impacted someone on such an important decision and stage in their lives.

As a part-time, contract instructor there is no job security.  

Your hourly rate is dependent on how many hours you are teaching.  Typically one class is 3 teaching hours.  So, you only get paid for 3 hours, regardless of how much time you invest in preparation and grading.  It is entirely possible that:
-you'll get paid less than minimum wage when you factor in preparation and grading
-you won't know which classes you're teaching (and subsequently the number of hours you'll be paid for aka "living wage"??) until days before the semester starts  

This is not an acceptable way to treat adults who have mortgages to pay, etc...  Nor is it even remotely professional, given that good instructors take their work (preparation, teaching and grading) seriously.  

Other than passive aggressive management, it was a rewarding place to work.  I loved the students and the challenge of teaching.  I was also very grateful for how supportive the faculty/co-workers were.

As a student at Niagara, I was enrolled in the Horticulture Technician program and was looking to become employed on campus in the teaching greenhouse. 
A quick email and follow up with some paperwork, I was hired. 

The training is thorough and corresponds with learning objectives you have during scheduled classes. I was lucky enough to be able to work for a full year at the greenhouse and on the grounds as a student. 
If you work hard, prove you are capable and are willing to complete tasks, ask questions then you will be valued as a fellow employee. Some students take this job and don't want to put in the time or give themselves a good reputation which is quite disappointing but it is a truly fantastic place to work. If they had full time opportunities, I would return in a heartbeat. Fantastic staff, great working and learning environment. I speak very highly of my experience at Niagara College. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
NOTL is a great smaller college campus and teaching in the School of Business has been an exceptional experience for me. Terrific support not only from the Associate Deans but also from other student and teaching support services. Their assistance and guidance allowed me to enhance my ability to provide the very best learning environment for my students. I have worked at four other Ontario colleges and by far Niagara College is the best in my mind. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Pretty much stress free working environment. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is very much a collaborative and team work environment that provides support and guidance at every touch point of interactions. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Everyday is different as a teacher but they are well planned to follow the core curriculum of the course.

A typical day at work included scheduling and confirming appointments, managing multiple phone lines, supplying detailed information to clients, billing, accepting payments, balancing day's end, charting, filing, all while training dental students on all of the above. I learned to prioritize in order to complete all tasks within insufficient part time hours, I also learned that most students were unhappy with most faculty and management and were over stressed because of it. There were a few co-workers that made the job enjoyable, but most were busy trying to belittle the part timers or each other. The hardest part of the job was that management had little or no experience in the dental field and were influenced by gossiping secretarial staff. The most enjoyable part of the job was getting to know many wonderful students and dental clients.

The company has a good structural flow. However, it lacks coordination! The senior instructor are don't hold much incentive and not treated as different than a new instructor. The growth is extremely limited. Instructor's efforts are not recognized, there are no annual award functions or anything fun for the instructional faculty. A lot of time and money is spent on student events. Moreso, there is a lot of focus on student feedback (good or bad) which impacts the instructor's role within the firm. Professional development sessions are held ONLY to discuss better grading strategies, effective student feedback and enabling good classroom conduct. At no point during my employment were we ever asked if we, as instructors, were facing any challenges with the students/content or any other situations. No feedback form was provided to us at the end of the term to discuss any fallbacks with the staff or students. 
The good thing was that the pay was decent.

The culture in this world gave off a beautiful vibe of calmness, there's people that got along no judgement towards the other, everyone pretty much have gotten along. There's always something for the staff or the student to access in particular if they need it, it was place where you can get access to almost any kind of information. One of the hardest part about the job is the trying to keep the environment tidy because constantly it would be a mess made, but what I like about it though is that it challenged my abilities on how I can keep the environment together, especially when it comes to catalouging the books, I have to keep in order as much as possible by learning how to order them by numerial codes and letters. What I do like about the job is the books, there was always something interesting to read, always something interesting learn outside my mindset.

I really enjoyed going to Niagara College and working there. Both the Hort & Greenhouse programs were very good. I learned lots, and they also have a lot of hands on work which is awesome when im looking for a hands on type of job in my field. We had a greenhouse that we were lucky to do research, grow and make projects in. Theres lots of equipment there for our practicals we had outside, if your new with machinery such as a riding lawn mower, line trimmer, or rototiller they will show you everything you need to know. The arboriculture Class was also an amazing course. The teacher brings you out to climb regularly which is amazing. Lots of outside learning to do, and it will prepare you for your job, and what you need to know.

A typical day at work was the E. coli lab using both the IDEXX and Membrane Filtering methods. While the IDEXX method was a piece of cake, the membrane filtering was a time consuming method. That day i discovered and learned about the IDEXX method.
The management task was related to my Gantt chart established to accomplish my project, and I worked very hard to meet the deadline.
My partner was collaborative and I was impressed by his devotion and he sens of accuracy while performing lab practices.
The hardest part of the job was related to severe weather conditions while we were performing water sampling. It was very cool and windy. The shore was icy and slippery, and our hands were frozen.
The most enjoyable part of the job was the excellent output, including results and report.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Instructor 3 salaries reported	$60.00 per hour
Hvac technician 2 salaries reported	$41.03 per hour
Programmer analyst 1 salary reported	$33.00 per hour
Proctor 1 salary reported	$20.48 per hour

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