Is being a college professor a profitable career?

College professors instruct students in a variety of different areas at the post-secondary level. They can produce scholarly articles, perform research, and teach. Many college professors find their work rewarding since they are usually interested in the course of study they have chosen.

Full-time university professors typically have the goal of obtaining tenure. This allows professors to maintain their job permanently without fear of being fired for unjust cause.

The U.S Labor and Statistics reports that the average salary for college professors, based on 2010 data, is $62,050 per year.

On average, college professors earn between $68,970 (BLS.gov) to $86,798 (Payscale.com). The gap between salaries of public and private college professors runs counter to that of the elementary and secondary roles, that is, professors at private colleges make on average $18,000 more (aaup.org). Experience is an important factor for post-secondary educators. Most come to the role with more than 10 years of experience and are compensated up to $154,000 for that experience, depending on field and location. In order to teach at this level, a Doctorate Degree or at the very least a Master's Degree are required. Additional bonuses and income streams become available the more a professor researches and publishes.

Many colleges provide incredible teaching programs. A few of the best in the nation are Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and UConn

Teaching involves a number of different skills and qualities. I would say the most important are:

1. People skills - being friendly and working well with others. You will need to be personable, caring, kind, friendly, compassionate, and understanding. These qualities make a great teacher. But you also need to be stern and firm in your directions, rules, and discipline
2. Public speaking - every day in your class you will need to be able to speak and present information to your students, practice speech, and practice fluency of language and talking in front of others
3. The subject you plan to teach - become a master of the subject you plan to teach, make sure you know as much as possible and learn as much as you can about the subject you plan to teach. Take as many classes as possible in this subject and learn everything you can about it.
4. Psychology & Human Development - start reading books and research articles on human development and psych. It will be helpful for you to know how people learn at different stages and the best ways to teach them at these stages (depending on stage of development and schema).