College Professor Job Description – Salary, Education and Career Guide for Becoming a College Professor

A college professor is a teacher at a four year college or university. Professors help students increase their understanding of particular subjects and philosophies. In addition to teaching, professors typically have research requirements. These requirements vary depending on the academic institution and subject.

Job Description

Not all teachers at colleges and universities are college professors. A university educator might also be a full-time lecturer or collegiate professor. There are three basic ranks of professor at most colleges. Assistant professors are lowest ranked, followed by associate professors and then full professors at the highest rank. Some other professor positions include:
  • Adjunct professor: An adjunct professor does not hold a permanent position at a school, and usually teaches in a specialized field. Adjunct professors typically do not have research responsibilities, and are usually paid a lower salary than tenured professors.

  • Affiliated professor: An affiliated professor teaches regularly in one department, but has assumed a professor’s duty in a second department.

  • Collegiate professor: A collegiate professor is a full-time teacher. This position is not tenure-track, and does not involve a scholarly research or publishing requirement.

  • Distinguished professor: This title is given to full professors in the top few percent of the faculty.

  • Honorary professor: An honorary professor may not really be professor at all, but somebody who has contributed to the school or community. For example, an honorary professor could be somebody who made a large donation to a university.

  • Professor emeritus: A professor emeritus is a professor who has retired from an institution in good standing and may still continue to teach on a part time basis. At some schools, all retired positions are giving this title.

Salary Guide

The pay for a college professor can vary greatly depending on the school and the subject being taught. According to the U.S. Census, the median college professor salary is $73,000 per year. It is not uncommon for full tenured professors to receive six figure incomes. Newer college professors will often supplement their salary by consulting professionally, or teaching additional courses or summer school classes.

Education and Training

A Doctoral degree is almost always required for college professor jobs. A few exceptions do exist, however. If you are extremely successful in an industry, educational requirements may be relaxed. For example, a famous best-selling author may be able to become a writing professor at a university without a Ph.D.
Because the process of becoming a full professor takes a number of years, the tenure track process is essentially the required training.

Prior Work Experience

Post-secondary education is required for beginning assistant professor jobs, but prior work experience is not usually required. Teaching experience is valuable, if it is relevant and at the post-secondary education level. In the absence of high academic success, work experience or research experience is valuable. For example, a Ph.D. scientist with years of experience conducting research for a pharmaceutical company may be a desirable candidate for a college professor job.

Career Advancement

There are a number of ways successful college professors can advance their careers. Here are just a few:
  • completion of research
  • relocation to more lucrative positions at other colleges
  • writing textbooks and other books.
The job outlook for professor careers in the United States is positive. Post-secondary education positions ranking high on the U.S. Department of Labor’s list of occupations with above average wages and projected growth. The U.S. Department of labor estimated an increase of 524,000 job positions between 2004 and 2014.

Related Associations and Groups

College professors may choose to join associations and groups for networking and advancement related purposes. For more information about post-secondary jobs, you may want to contact:
  • the American Association of University Professors
  • other state education groups.

 

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