Emeritus, professor, associate professor, assistant professor, lecturer?

Question

What is the difference between all those types of professors? I guess it is some kind of hierarchy, but can anyone elaborate a little more on this.

Answer 1

Lecturer is the lowest rung. Teaches only the lower level courses. May be a graduate student. Is not tenured. Could be working part time.
Assistant Professor has a doctorate but doesn't have tenure yet. On probation.
Associate Professor is tenured.
Professor is next in line. Usually only department heads are professors.
Emiritus postions are the cream of the crop. Many of them had tenure at another university but moved for better money and prestige.

Answer 2

Emeritus usually means that the professor served a long time at the school and is now retired (occasionally given as an honorary, too)

A professor (full) usually has a lengthy tenure and is the "highest" among the active faculty members.

An associate professor has a shorter tenure length and is second in prestige to full professor.

An assistant professor often has no real tenure and minimal job security.

A lecturer does not count as a full-fledged faculty member of the university and ranks lower than any professor. They are often contracted on a semester or yearly basis.

Answer 3

Yep, it is a heirarchy.

Emeritus is a retired prof who may come back to teach or speak or publish here and there.

Top of the foodchain is a full prof. Most tend to have PhDs in whatever field, and it is something you work your way up to through merit and the good ole boy system; few people get hired on as a full prof right out of the gate, even if they were a full prof at another college. Most full profs get to rest on their laurels, but some colleges insist they continue to publish.

Associate profs tend to have masters degrees; some may have PhDs. They get the middle of the road; they must publish to prove themselves, they get middle of the road salaries, they get the middle of the road classes to teach and they try hard to become that full prof.

Assistant profs can, at times, have just a B.A. and be teaching. At a lot of colleges, they don't have an open end contract; they often work on a year or semester contract. Many are still students themselves, working on their masters or higher. They get the grunt classes - the freshman level of whatever subject; trying to get some mouthbreathers brain to turn on for that hour. They aren't required to publish yet, but it doesn't hurt.

A lecturer may or may not be a professor. Sometimes they are emeritus, sometimes they are professionals outside of the college who come in to teach for a semester or a year, or even just as a guest lecturer on the specific topic to hand.Their salary can depend on how often they lecture at colleges, their educational background, their standing in the professional field of their choice. They tend to make more than an assistant, sometimes more than an associate even.

The best place to be for any of these positions is tenured- basicaly a guarantte on your job. But I've never seen a tenured assistant, and only a few associate.