Professors are employed by higher education institutions like colleges, universities, professional schools, community colleges, etc. They devote their career to specializing in a particular area and often involve themselves in research, teaching, and other academic services. As part of their research responsibilities, they publish research papers and attend conferences. Strong teaching and mentoring skills are considered basic qualities of a professor. Many different types of professors exist, ranging from lecturer to tenured professor.
“What is a ‘tenure’ track?” The tenure track is taken by college/university-level teachers striving to get promoted or permanently employed at the university.
Lecturers: Mostly have master’s degrees and teach students; typically, they are not on the tenure track. Some lecturers also pursue other careers in addition to being a lecturer. For example, someone who is fluent in Chinese and has a degree in this area may choose to teach Chinese in college as a part-time or full-time job. Publishing papers is not expected from a lecturer.
Adjunct Professors: Work for a college or university on a ‘contract’ basis; most have master’s or doctorates credentials. They are not only paid less, but also lack job security. Most adjunct professors work on a per-semester contract basis.
Assistant Professors: Instructors on the tenure track who are trying to meet the tenure requirements. For most universities, they need to complete 6 years before being considered for the next rank, Associate Professor.
Associate Professors: Mid-career professors who are further along in the tenure track. They continue to teach, work on research projects, and publish in scholarly/academic journals (peer-reviewed) for another 7 years before being considered for promotion.
Professors: After associate professors on the tenure track have already published numerous research papers in their field of expertise and spent a sufficient amount of time with the university, they go through the ‘tenure review process’. As part of the process, various achievements like contributions to the university, awards and recognition, papers published, recommendation letters, etc. are reviewed by the department and dean of the college. If they succeed in the tenure review, they are appointed as ‘Professors’. This is the highest rank in the tenure track. The professor rank provides job security; in other words, the university cannot terminate a professor unless there is a solid reason to do so (whereas termination for no reason can happen in the private sector).
Education and Qualifications
- Though some institutions accept master’s degrees, most institutions expect a Ph.D. in the chosen field.
- Bachelor’s degree: 4 years (choose a subject/area to specialize in)
- Master’s degree: 2 years
- Ph.D.: 4 to 8 years depending upon the area of study and institution
How to Get There
- While working on your undergraduate degree, participate in internship programs in the chosen area.
- While working on your graduate degree, work as a teaching assistant to gain experience under the supervision of professors; this also allows students to get remission (reduction) of a part or the entirety of tuition fees.
- During this period, you can also gain research and publication experience which will be useful while working as an assistant professor or associate professor.
- Write a thesis while working on your graduate degree.
- Throughout your undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, continue to build relationships with your professors and ask them to be your mentors.
- Apply for teaching or postdoctoral positions. Postdoc positions can be short-term employment to gain further research or teaching experience.
Responsibilities
- Building college courses in the field of specialization
- Preparing a course syllabus
- Teaching, evaluating, and grading students
- Advising/mentoring students
- Staying up to date with the area of specialization
- Researching and publishing papers
A Day in the Life
Professors are engaged in a variety of activities:
- Organizing and conducting higher education functions
- Preparing lectures, teaching undergraduate classes, holding office hours with students, etc. (4 to 15 hours per week)
- Supervising graduate student research
- Running laboratory experiments (if applicable to the field)
- Writing papers and sometimes textbooks
Most professors spend about 50 hours a week at work; some spend about 80 hours as well.
Other Necessary Skills
- Excellent presentation, written, and communication skills
- Public speaking
- Organization skills
- Ability to explain complex concepts in a simple way
Career Progression
- Probationary teaching position in one or more college/university or
- Tenure track (Assistant Professor -> Associate Professor -> Professor)
Salary
While compensation can vary by type of institution (private vs public), area of specialization, years of experience, academic and research achievements, etc., liberal arts professors fall into the lower end of the compensation spectrum; math and science are in the mid-range, and medicine and law professors are paid very well compared to professors in other fields.
Typical ranges are as follows:
- Median salary: $80K (Per US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Lecturers/Entry level: > $50K
- Assistant Professors: > $80K
- Associate Professors: > $90K
- Professors: > $120K
- Tenured and top 10%: > $175K
Job Growth
Number of jobs (2020): About 1.3 million
Growth (2020 to 30): 12% (Far better than an average job/profession)
Projected new positions: 157K
Summary
Professors are motivated self-starters and are obsessed with life-long learning; people suited for the professor job are those who can identify and explore original problems in their fields.
Tenured professors have relatively high job security and professional freedom; they can set their own responsibilities and decide how to divide their time between teaching, writing, researching, and administrative tasks. Most universities have made teaching as a mandatory requirement.
The most challenging years as a professor on the tenure track are the early ones, when there is a significant amount of pressure to publish original research and establish the credentials that lead to tenure.
The profession offers intellectual stimulation and freedom to all its members.
Though the job is demanding with its long work hours and a demanding ‘tenure’ process, if you want to learn new things throughout your life, have the will to teach and motivate others, and want to contribute something significant to your field, this highly rewarding career could be the right fit for you.
