While I like being a professor, with each passing year I am less likely to recommend this career path. This is not because I fear competition (I am a tenured full professor). It is not because I have turned against my profession to embrace anti-intellectualism or some delusional ideology about “woke” professors. It is not even due to disillusionment. I still believe in education and the value of educators. My real reason is altruism and honesty: I want potential professors to know the truth. I now turn to some reasons why you might not want to become a professor.
First, there is the cost. To be a professor, you will almost always need a terminal degree in the field—typically a Ph.D. You need to start with a bachelor’s degree and college in the United States is more expensive each year. Student debt is at a record high. While a bachelor’s degree is, in general, a great investment, you will need to go on to graduate school.
While graduate school is expensive, many students work as teaching or research assistants. These positions typically for tuition and provide a very modest paycheck. Since the pay is low and the workload is high, you will at best be in a financial holding pattern for the duration of grad school. After 3-7+ years, you will (if you are persistent and lucky) have that terminal degree.
If you are paying for graduate school, it will be expensive and will add to your debt. You might be able to work a decent job at the same time, but that will probably drag out graduate school.
Regardless of whether you had to pay or not, you will be attempting to start a career after about a decade (or more) in college—so be sure to consider this.
Second, the chances of getting a job are usually not great. While conditions vary, the general trend has been reduced budgets for faculty and increased spending on facilities and administrators. As such, if you are looking for a job in academics, it might be smarter to become an administrator rather than a professor. The salary for administrators is generally better than that of professors, although elite coaches of the prestige sports have the very best salaries.
When I went on the job market in 1993, it was terrible. When I applied for a job, I would get a form letter saying hundreds of people applied and how sorry the search committee was about my not getting an interview. I got my job by chance by being in the right place at the right time. It is thus wise to consider the odds of even getting a job.
Third, universities now often hire people into low-paying adjunct positions which lack benefits and job security. The average adjunct salary is about $26,500. Starting salaries for professors varies, but are in the $50,000-$77,00 range. This is good, but not as good as what a person with an advanced degree can make outside of academics. Also, it is worth noting that the average salary for someone with just a B.A. is $81,000. By the numbers, if you go for a professorship, the odds are that you will be worse off financially than if you just stuck with a B.A. and went to work. That said, most of us do not become professors for money.
Fourth, the workload of professors is higher than most people think. While administrative, teaching and research loads vary, professors work about 61 hours per week and work on weekends (typically grading, class prep and research). Thanks to budget cuts and increased enrollment, class sizes have tended to increase or remain high. For example, I typically have 35+ students per classes, with most of my classes being “writing intensive.”
People still tell me that they are envious that professors like me get summers off; the envy deceases when I tell them that this is unpaid “vacation.”. During this off time, a professor is still doing research and class preparation. And administrators seem to struggle with the idea that off-contract faculty are not getting paid, so I and others are still called to do unpaid work in the summer. For example, I am on an AI committee this summer along with other unpaid faculty.
Fifth, the trend at universities is that faculty are expected to do uncompensated administrative work on top of their academic duties (research, teaching, advising, etc.). As one extreme example, one semester I was teaching four classes, advising, writing a book, directing the seven-year program review, completing all the assessment tasks, serving as the philosophy & religion facilitator and serving on nine committees.
Sixth, while professors were once well-respected, that respect has faded. Some of this is due to politicization of education. Those seeking to cut budgets to lower taxes, to transform education into a for-profit industry, and to break education unions have done an able job demonizing the profession and academics. To be fair and balanced, we professors have dropped the ball by failing to make the case for our profession in the public arena.
Seventh, while every generation claims that the newer generations are worse, many students now see education as a means to the end of getting a job. Given the economy that our political and financial elites have crafted, this is a sensible and pragmatic approach. However, it has also translated into less student interest. The new model of education, crafted by state legislators, administrators and the business folks is to train the job fillers for the job creators. The current phrase is to make the students “workforce ready” and many universities are going all in on AI.
Finally, the general trend in politics has been one of increased hostility to education, with it being seen as a political battleground and another area for the rich to make profits. It seems likely that higher education will get worse.
But to be fair and balanced, a career as a professor can be a better choice than the alternatives, depending on what you value and what you expect from life. Even today, when people ask me if I would become a professor, I still say “yes.”
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