How to Become a Professor (Career Guide)

Last Updated: March 3rd, 2022 by Noah Shaw

A professor is a teacher who provides education at the higher education level.

To assume this role, you must be an expert who specializes in one particular field of study. Doing so will allow you to deliver lectures and guidance to students pursuing the same field in colleges, universities, and other institutes of higher learning.

To become a Professor, you must pursue your chosen field of study to the Doctoral level. Along the way, you must also gain teaching experience and produce papers and books that contribute to your field.

In this career guide, you’ll discover how to become a professor. You’ll dive deep into the process towards becoming a professor, as well as the potential earnings you might enjoy once you’re there.

Visit our Career Guide for a list of all our job insights for an in-depth look at the new career path you are considering.

Job Description

Before we discuss how to become a professor, let’s take a look at what a professor is and what they do.

Being a professor means that you’re an educator, first and foremost.

That means you’ll design lessons and deliver lectures to students at a higher education institution like a college, university, or other vocational institution. You’ll support those lectures by preparing study materials and grading student coursework.

Besides teaching, research is also a significant part of your role. You’re required to periodically contribute new knowledge to your field by conducting and supervising research.

Depending on your field, that could mean organizing desk research (research of written materials) or conducting laboratory experiments, which is more common in the fields of science.

Any findings that you get from your research must then be shared with the rest of your field. You’ll do that through activities like publishing research papers, writing textbooks, and attending academic conferences.

Institutions typically require professors to publish papers regularly to keep their professorship.

Professors are teachers of the highest level in their field of study, which also makes them experts. Some professors also do additional consulting work, sharing their expertise with private companies and other organizations that require it.

Read More: How to Become a School Counselor. Help kids through their day-to-day lives in this career. Learn what it takes to become a school counselor!

What Does an Average Day For a Professor Look Like?

Here’s what an average day will look like for you in this role:

Office Time: Preparing Course Materials/Grading Papers

Depending on the time of year, professors will spend a lot of their office time preparing course materials or grading papers.

For example, before the semester begins, a professor would spend this part of their day planning their lectures for the entire semester. That means they’ll schedule the topics they’ll cover for any given class and prepare any teaching and study materials well in advance.

Once the semester has begun, there’s no more need for planning. Instead, professors will spend their office time grading student papers and any other submitted coursework.

Conduct Lectures

Besides the office, a large part of your day will be spent in the classroom or lecture hall.

This is where you’ll deliver the lectures that you’ve already planned in advance. Depending on the subject, your audience might be a handful of students or hundreds of them in large lecture theatres.

Professors don’t necessarily do all the talking during lectures. Instead, this is also an excellent time to have back and forth discussions and debates with or among students.

Hold Office Hours

Professors must also hold office hours.

These are scheduled hours of the day when students are allowed to visit your office and consult you personally. In other words, office hours are opportunities for students to talk to their professors one-on-one.

Typically, students use this time to ask you questions about a topic they need your help understanding.

Conduct Research and Experiments

As mentioned before, being a professor means having to contribute new knowledge to your field of study. That’s done by performing research and experiments to produce new findings or challenge established ones.

This part of a professor’s responsibility will differ significantly depending on your chosen field of study. For example, a History professor will conduct research by referring to old texts from the library that are relevant to historical events in the past. This is known as ‘desk research’. 

However, a Chemistry or Biology professor’s research will likely involve spending time in a laboratory instead.

In both examples, the purpose stays the same: professors must continually push the boundaries of their field and pursue new knowledge.

Write Research Papers

Professors don’t just spend a part of their day grading student papers but also writing a few of their own. Writing research papers is the professor’s way of communicating and sharing their research or experiment findings with the rest of their field.

As a professor, your goal is to get these papers published in recognized journals read by students and other professors from the same field.

Attend Academic Conferences

Professors are also required to attend academic conferences.

Firstly, these conferences allow them to keep up to date with the latest discoveries in their field of study. They’re also perfect opportunities to network and meet other professors from the same field.

These conferences might happen on the same campus where you work, or they could be somewhere else. It’s not uncommon for professors to travel to other states or countries to attend crucial conferences in their field of study.

Participate in Other Campus Events or Societies

Lastly, professors also take some time to participate in other non-academic campus events.

For example, student-run societies and clubs typically need a faculty advisor as part of their activities. As a result, professors sometimes assume that role in addition to all of their other daily responsibilities.

How to Become a Professor: Process

Now that you know the daily life and tasks of a professor, let’s discuss how to become a professor.

The process that you’ll follow to become a professor is relatively straightforward. However, there are some differences based on the field of study that you’ve chosen.

Here’s what the steps will look like throughout that process:

1. Pursue a Bachelor’s Degree

As mentioned earlier, being a professor means being the highest-ranking teacher in your chosen field of study. That’s why your journey there begins with pursuing a formal education of your own in the same field.

For example, if your goal is to become a professor of History, you must start by pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in History. This first step in the process will take you 4 years in most cases.

2. Progress Towards a Doctoral Degree

Once you’ve graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree, you must then continue with postgraduate study. That means progressing through a Master’s Degree towards a Doctoral Degree in the same field.

During this time, you can also start developing your specialization within your chosen field.

For example, an aspiring Law professor might choose to focus their postgraduate studies on Family Law, Criminal Law, or other specializations within the field.

During this stage, you’ll also conduct research under the guidance of a professor, something that you’ll also do once you become a professor, yourself.

This part of the process will take 5 to 7 years. Some Doctoral programs will allow you to earn your Master’s degree simultaneously, or you could do the Masters and Doctoral degrees separately.

3. Gain Teaching Experience

Regardless of the field of study or institution you’ve chosen, you must have teaching experience to become a professor. Part of that experience is typically gained during your time as a Masters student or Doctoral candidate.

However, you’ll also need to gain more teaching experience by assuming teaching roles in a college, university, or other higher education institution.

4. Gain Relevant Work Experience

Some fields also require hands-on work experience besides teaching in a classroom. For example, if you want to become a law professor, you must have experience being a lawyer or working in other roles at a law practice.

Combining your industry work experience with your teaching experience will make you a much more effective professor in the long run.

5. Work as an Assistant/Associate Professor

Once you have the required qualifications and work experience, you can then work in an institution of higher learning. Still, you must start at a lower rank and work your way up to earn a professorship.

Typically, that part of the process begins with you working in the role of Assistant Professor, then of Associate Professor. The quality of your research and contributions to the field will help you progress faster.

Once you’ve passed those ranks, the institution can then give you a professorship in your field.

6. Pursue Tenure

Once you’ve become a professor, the next step would be to pursue tenure. Gaining tenure means that a professor has obtained a permanent role in the institution and cannot be fired unless there’s an exceptional reason.

The purpose of tenure is designed to protect your academic freedom and freedom of speech as a professor.

Find A Professor Job Near You!

Are You Suited for a Professor Career?

By now you understand what a professor is, what they do, and how to become a professor; but is this the career path you want to take?

Becoming a professor can be quite challenging. To go far in this role and build a successful career, you must have or develop the following skills and proficiencies:

Personality and Skills

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), professors must have strong critical thinking skills. That comes as no surprise, seeing as how the job involves questioning established norms and contributing new findings to the field.

Besides that, the BLS also points out strong interpersonal skills are also important. Your students will come from all walks of life with many different perspectives. So, you must be able to build rapport with students to enhance their learning experience.

Resourcefulness will also take you a long way in this role to find and create the necessary teaching materials to help develop students’ understanding of your field.

Credentials and Proficiencies

In this day and age, professors must also be proficient in using learning management systems (LMS). These systems help to deliver teaching materials directly to students online, wherever they are.

Besides that, knowing how to use video conferencing software like Zoom, Skype, and others is just as crucial for teaching or consulting with students over long distances. 

How to Become a Professor and Find Work

If you’re wondering how to become a professor, you’re probably wondering how you’ll find a position when you reach professor status.

Professors are hired mainly by post-secondary institutions of higher learning, such as:

  • Colleges (e.g. Private, State, and Community Colleges)
  • Universities
  • Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Institutions

Typically, people pursuing this career path will seek employment with the institution where they pursued their undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

That’s because the faculty is already familiar with who you are, and you’ve likely conducted research activities for them as part of your studies.

Still, you can also find work by following more conventional methods like:

  • Sending your resume to other institutions with programs in your field (i.e. other Law schools in need of Law professors)
  • Searching for academic job openings on other university’s websites

Find A Professor Job Near You!

The Average Salary of a Professor

According to a study done by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the overall average salary of a professor in the 2019-2020 period was $140,373.

The average salary will depend on the type of institution that you work with.

For instance, a public university professor earned an average of $131,890 a year, while one at a private-independent institution earned $176,885 instead. On the other hand, professors at religiously-affiliated institutions had an average salary of $121,716.

It’s also important to understand that your earning potential depends on what type of institution you work for.

For instance, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) points out that overall, post-secondary teachers (including professors) earn the most at:

  • Private Institutions (Universities, Colleges, and Others): Average of $83,460
  • State Institutions (Universities, Colleges, And Others): Average of $81,110
  • Local Junior Colleges: Average of $80,020
  • State Junior Colleges: Average of $62,680

Professor Job Growth

If you’re looking for how to become a professor, you’ll be glad to know that, overall, job roles for post-secondary teachers are expected to increase by 12% between 2020 and 2030.

The BLS describes that growth rate as “faster than average”, which is good news if you plan to pursue this career path.

Top 5 Most Popular Fields of Study For Professors

Learning how to become a professor is only half the battle. You’ll also need to decide what field you want to go in.

Some of the most popular fields of study for professors include:

Law

Law professors earn the most on average, attracting a lot of academics wanting to know how to become a professor to pursue this field. In addition, professors have various specializations here like Family Law and Criminal Law.

Economics

Here, professors teach topics like macroeconomics, microeconomics and finance.

Engineering

People wondering how to become a professor of engineering also have a wide range of specialities to choose from, depending on their qualifications. Examples include chemical engineering, aeronautical engineering, and electrical engineering.

Read More: How to Become a Biochemical Engineer. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about this career path including education, salary, responsibilities, and more.

Health Specialties

Professors in this field teach future doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals in a wide range of specialities like dentistry, public health, and more.

Science (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space)

If you’re wondering how to become a professor and have a keen eye for the sciences, you should know that there continues to be a high demand for professors who teach and conduct or supervise research in science.

Read More: Read our related article about How to Become a Marine Biologist. Here, you’ll discover everything you need to know to get your foot in the door of this field.

Professional Associations

American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)

National Education Association (NEA)

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

Top Colleges and Universities

Vanderbilt University

Harvard University

Northwestern University

Brown University

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

About Noah Shaw

An editor & writer on staff at LandYourLife, Noah is a career research enthusiast passionate about helping others find & work towards their ideal vocation.