The pursuit of self-actualization can lead to a successful second career. Dr. George King has turned his own experience as a non-traditional student into an online teaching career. The former law enforcement officer now teaches business, criminal justice and ethics courses online at both the undergraduate and graduate levels across four institutes of higher education. Not only that, he now has agreements in place to expand into two more schools at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023.
King started his own journey into higher education while in his 40s and working for the Sherriff’s Department in his home state of Florida. He then earned a master’s degree and started his PhD at 50. It took him seven years to finish.
“For me, starting my PhD was about self-actualization,” he remembered. “I would tell anyone else to really think about how they can use it and if it is going to benefit them with a better job or access to opportunities. It really is a huge investment of time and money not to go into without a clear understanding of what is on the other side.”
Teaching was a natural extension of his work in law enforcement. He started teaching at a community college police academy and expanded his scope as he achieved higher levels of education.
Regardless of where he is teaching, or what subject, at the heart of his career as an online professor is King’s commitment to engaging with his students. He responds to every student comment in course forums.
“If you have 26 students in a course, you have 26 teachers,” King explained. “I’ve learned more from my students as a professor than I ever did as a student. Teaching and learning is what we undertake together in every course.”
King and Professor Services at The Babb Group have had a long-term relationship. King first hired Professor Services after finishing his PhD. Staff wrote his first CV and created his LinkedIn page. He also subscribed to the job leads service. As he got busier and busier, the constant job search that adjunct online professors must engage in became too time consuming. Purchasing the job application services was King’s next move. Staff applied for up to 32 jobs per month on his behalf for eleven months until King hit his target of six schools.
“I worked with Leah who completed the applications,” King said. “She’d send me regular updates and we would email back and forth. It did take five or six months to land the first of the three schools I wanted to add, but after the first one came in, the activity really picked up.”
The future looks bright for the retired law enforcement officer.
“I expect 2023 to be a very interesting year,” King said. “I really do have a vibrant and engaging second career.”
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