How to Research Salary Ranges and Benefits for a College Professor

The average U.S. salary for a full-time college professor is $51,000, but this can vary greatly, based on the geographic region, type of school, teaching field and experience. Through some simple research, you can become familiar with the salary ranges and benefits for professors in a given field and area.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet Access
• Career Counseling
• Computers

1. Understand that different professorial fields will offer varying levels of compensation.

2. Log on to the official Web sites for college faculty to better understand salary and career issues. Search the Internet with keywords like "college professor" and "career."

3. Visit your local university and speak to human resources personnel about salary ranges and benefits for faculty.

4. Speak with your former college professors about teaching salary ranges and benefits at their university.

5. Recognize that a full-time college professor's benefits go beyond the standard medical, vacation and paid holidays. Professors are expected - and willing - to conduct research and publish papers, for which they are well paid. They are also given travel allowances, sabbatical leaves and the opportunity to consult with government agencies or private corporations.

6. Realize that salary negotiations are common and that you must be ready to promote yourself during an interview.

7. Keep in mind that salaries are usually higher in private universities than in public institutions.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider that relocation may be beneficial if a particular area of the country has many high-paying nonacademic jobs in certain fields. The academic salaries for professors in those fields will be higher than average, because of the competition from the private sector.
• Fields such as medicine, law, business and engineering generally pay professors higher salaries than humanities or education.
• Salaries in community colleges are lower than in four-year schools. However, professors in two-year colleges can concentrate on teaching, instead of research.

Who Can Help:

• eFax is the world’s #1 Internet fax service.  Send and receive faxes by email and kiss your fax machine goodbye. 30-Day Free Trial

[Rockney]

on 11/23/2008 Great information for someone who is thinking about becoming a professor! 5 stars!