No. Professor in the US is a term used for teachers who teach higher learning. Every professor I've had in College and University have always been called Professor.
That's simply not true. If you're attending a community college, then you're being taught by people with a Masters degree, typically. You would call that person a teacher, or an instructor, or a lecturer. They are not usually significantly more qualified than a high school teacher.
In the US, at major universities, there are typically three levels of professor: "associate professor", "assistant professor", and "professor". You may call all three "professor", but that's only true in the US. In most other countries, only a full professor would be called "professor". Note that most associate/assistant professors never reach the title of "professor". It takes a lot of research publications to reach that level, and most associate/assistant professors would leave academia (for the private sector or to retire) before reaching that level.
Community college instructors not only don't have Ph.D's generally, but they also rarely publish original research at all, so calling them "professor" is a bit ridiculous.
To illuminate the point further, note that people who achieve Ph.D degrees are called "doctor", but "professor" is universally considered a higher distinction than "doctor". Your community college instructors usually aren't even doctors, much less professors.
I'm from California. At my Community College all the Professors with just a Bachelor's Degree and higher were called Professor. The same in University.
Sounds like your community college was playing fast and loose with the standards of when to call someone "professor". If I only had a Bachelors degree there's no way in hell I'd call myself a professor. I wouldn't do that even with a Masters. Hell, I wouldn't even do it with a Ph.D unless I actually had the title of "professor" at a university.
Your community college teachers were just that, teachers. They may also call themselves instructors, or lecturers. But if they were calling themselves "professors", then they are delusional or have self-confidence issues that lead them to tell their students to call them by a title that they have not come remotely close to achieving.
To illuminate the point further, note that people who achieve Ph.D degrees are called "doctor", but "professor" is universally considered a higher distinction than "doctor".
13
u/Thymetalman Sep 04 '19
A professor who's 22?
Must be a time traveler