

Why are academic salaries lower than commonly assumed? - alexwg
http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2008/03/2008032501c/careers.html

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brent
"When I try to explain why professors at small, private universities -- where
tuition costs tend to be high -- usually earn significantly less than faculty
members at more-affordable public universities, people shake their heads at
the absurdity of academe."

The people at the more-affordable public universities are usually there more
for research than teaching. They are getting paid substantially more because
the research brings in many more dollars than tuition nets. The professors
that get big university research jobs are also usually from top notch,
competitive programs. The numbers she is looking at for big universities still
includes profs in areas like creative writing, but also the higher paid
economics, engineering, and cs professors.

"But if the average person reading U.S. News assumes that characterization is
accurate -- the same person who, perhaps, sits on the governing board of a
university and approves faculty raises each year -- then it's no wonder that
faculty salaries are as low as they are on many campuses."

Wait. Does anyone in academia actually take US News that seriously?

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jey
Why do people who want to do research go into academia? It seems like the
economics are just completely not favorable in academia -- you have to spend a
lot of time teaching and doing other overhead and you barely get any pay. It
seems like the only economically rational reason to become a professor is a
love of teaching for its own sake. Maybe it makes sense because you get
underlings for free...?

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alexwg
Where do you think people who want to do research _should_ go?

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mechanical_fish
Seriously. I have friends who once worked in Agilent Labs. Now Agilent Labs is
gone. I have had many professors and bosses who worked at Bell Labs. Now Bell
Labs is gone.

There are small companies that do funded research. There are grants earmarked
for companies like that, and it keeps them afloat. But you have to spend a lot
of time just to raise small amounts of money.

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edw519
"Pamela Johnston is an associate professor of English studies at Texas
Lutheran University, where she teaches creative writing and American
literature."

Supply and Demand. There you go.

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theorique
True enough. Talk to a professor in an area where there is a high-salaried
non-academic job market (business, medicine, engineering, CS) and see if you
get a different answer.

~~~
jey
I thought a CS professor only makes $70k - $90k, even at a prestigious
university.

~~~
yummyfajitas
I'm reasonably sure this isn't the case. Even in pure math, _postdoc_ salaries
tend to start at $50k ($45k in low cost of living areas like Urbana
Champaign). Associate (tenure track, but not yet tenured) profs tend to start
at $70k. I can guarantee you engineering/CS makes significantly more.

However, the _average_ professor makes very little, because the average
professor (of, e.g., Medieval English Literature) has few marketable skills.

