I am looking to become a college professor, can anyone help?

Question

I would like to major in chemistry or physics once i graduate high school, and i am hoping to land a job as a professor. Does anyone have any tips or ideas on how i would go about doing this? I was also wondering about the salary. And what are some other occupations that I could fulfill with a degree in chemistry or physics?

Answer 1

to be any type of college professor you will have to have a doctoral degree. this will take approximately 4-6 years after college.

salary depends a lot on the size of the school and the region of the country, as well as whether you the position is for a full-time professor or adjunct member of the faculty.

full time professors at private universities in DC make between $50-80,000, depending on how long they have been teaching and what their responsibilities involve.

Answer 2

Since students' experience with professors is usually in the classroom, they often have a very distorted idea of what we do. If that is the direction in which you want to go, you need to get a Ph.D., and the Ph.D. is a research degree. If, when you finish, you become a professor, you will probably be evaluated primarily on the quality and quantity of your research, although you need to be an acceptable teacher as well. Right now, there are two types of universities out there - the research university and the "balanced" university, at which they are seeking more of a balance between teaching and research. These used to be considered teaching schools, but most of them now also expect their faculty to be involved in research for about half their time, plus they have a heavier teaching load.

As far as salaries go, average salaries for assistant professors (the entry level position with a Ph.D.) at a 4-year university ranges from $50,000 to $65,000 on the average. That includes some disciplines which probably make somewhat less than chemists and physicists, but also some which make quite a bit more.

As far as other jobs, I'm not sure what physicists in non-academic settings do, but I know that chemists exist in industry, analyzing all kinds of products. My uncle worked in a private chemistry lab which did analyses for a variety of companies, from food to cosmetics, to paint. When he retired, he went to work for a museum which had to analyze the composition of ancient works of art for restoration purposes.

Answer 3

Well, you don't really land a job as a professor. After you complete your PhD (at least pass your comp exams), then you apply at different schools. If you are accepted/hired, then you start as a assistant professor and publish or perish kicks in like a mule. If you publish enough and in good journals, you will probably be asked to apply for tenure and if the department accepts you then you have landed a job as a full professor.
Physical Science full professors' salaries are typically just about 6 figures. Honestly, it is probably higher at most large schools but I don't want to be too optimistic since this you are at the beginning of your career search.
If you get a PhD in Chem and your goal is to make $$$, you go to Big Pharma, period. And yes your typical salary will be at least 50K higher, but you lose any job security working for a big corp. I won't cast aspersions on industry, but there are also big differences between researching on a campus and researching in a corporate situation.

Answer 4

actually the salary isn't important thing...let yourself know what the best thing you should have...if you are looking for the other occupations...you could be an engineer and dont even think about the salary...you must always been sincere in whatever you are going to do!