College Professor, One of the Top Ten Jobs?

October 13th, 2009

So as is not unusual at any time, and especially not at a time when unemployment is up, I came across one of those articles about what are the best jobs out there today.   Here is there list:

1. Systems Engineer

2. Physician Assistant

3. College Professor

4. Nurse Practitioner

5. Information Technology Project Manager

6. Certified Public Accountant

7. Physical Therapist

8. Computer/Network Security Expert

9. Intelligence Analyst

10. Sales Director

All the jobs take a lot of education and training, and that makes sense.   And College Professor?   Number 3?   Okay, most days I do love it, and I know there are worse jobs out there.   Here is their reasoning:

Median salary (experienced): $70,400
Top pay: $115,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 23%
Sector: Education

What they do: Teach and grade papers, of course. But profs also spend about half their time doing research and writing articles and books about their field.

Why it’s great: For starters, major scheduling freedom. “Besides teaching and office hours, I get to decide where, when, and how I get my work done,” says Daniel Beckman, a biology professor at Missouri State University. And that doesn’t even take into account ample time off for holidays and a reduced workload in the summer. Competition for tenuretrack positions at four-year institutions is intense, but you’ll find lots of available positions at community colleges and professional programs, where you can enter the professoriate as an adjunct faculty member or non-tenure track instructor without a doctorate degree. That’s particularly true during economic downturns, when laid-off workers often head back to school for additional training. More valuable perks: reduced or free tuition for family members and free access to college gyms and libraries.

Drawbacks: Low starting pay and a big 50% salary gap between faculty at universities and community colleges. If the position is at a four-year university, you’ll probably have to relocate, and you’ll be under pressure to constantly publish new work to sustain career momentum.

How to get it: For a tenure track position, you’ll need a Ph.D. But all colleges want at least a master’s degree and prefer plenty of teaching experience.

Well, I’m at a Research Ia University with tenure, making more than the median in a part of the country with a low cost of living.   Schedule freedom is a nice part of the job, but that cuts both ways.   When I assign homework, I am assigning myself homework (grading) and there are deadlines and high stress.   Still, this is worth blogging about because I have to point out something.

College Professor is a terrible job for some people.   I’ve written before about all the sorts of things an astronomy professor has to do, and some of the negative issues about careers in academia.   While it may seem cool not to have an immediate boss, that is a lot of responsibility.   No one tells you how to do your job, or even what to do, exactly.   They just want to see success with teaching, research, and related activities as measured in concrete terms (grants, papers, teaching evaluations, etc.).   It can be stressful, and there are many chances to make major mistakes.   Your decisions can affect the lives of others, although unlike medicine mistakes rarely cost lives, although they may cost jobs and even careers.

I took one of those interest inventory exams back in high school and college professor did score high for me.   It is a good job.   For me.

Still, there are those days where a 9-5 job with regular hours, a job and not a career, sounds nice.   Learning to take real vacations a few times a year has helped.   A personal assistant would be nice, too…but I’m too responsible to lean on my students that way.

Any other suggestions for top jobs in America today?   For those interested in science and science fiction?   And perhaps without requiring years and years in school?   At the horror convention I met quite a few make-up artists, which was cool, and zombie movies ought to keep them busy.   Any equivalent for sf types?   Video games and cgi?

I’m not looking for a job — I have tenure — but I have friends looking.

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