Memo to America’s college professors: You have the third best job in the country.
This is according to a list of “the top 50 careers with great pay and growth prospects” that will appear in the November issue of Money magazine. OK, so you’re behind systems engineers and physician’s assistants, but No. 3 wins you a red ribbon, right?
CNN/Money.com and PayScale.com surveyed more than 35,000 workers and found that, in addition to the high overall ranking, college professors have the third lowest-stress job (behind education/training consultants and physical therapists), and the eighth most flexible job (amazingly, sales directors took No. 1 in that category; we would have picked yoga instructors).
We actually know a few college professors, and it’s true that they can be a restive lot. But when you’re talking about the fortunate ones who manage to grab the brass ring of the tenure track, we would grant you that in the year 2009 A.D., being a college professor is a pretty darned good job.
And then the magazine says this: “Competition for tenure-track 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.”
Memo to the editors of Money magazine: “Enter the professoriate” is a phrase laden with possibilities. It suggests a logical progression: If you missed out on a tenure-track position after getting your doctorate, just get a job as an adjunct (or maybe several at the same time), and keep grabbing for that brass ring. You’re sure to get it eventually. Right? --Don Troop
