Do social science college professors really get paid horribly?

Question

I love social science and am thinking of switching back to it from an undergrade pre-management degree (of which I got into because 1) I like computers and my management field uses them somewhat and 2) everyone tried turning me away from social science saying it paid horribly).

I hate working in the corporate world - I currently am interning in the office & I see a lot of office politics, make large profit, etc... types. I guess I've just always been against working in business for some reason.

I'd like to be a history, psychology, or computer design professor at a college, but I hear they all pay awful and getting tenure is almost impossible now because no college wants to give it. I'd be happy with making between 40k-50k per year, but don't know if I'm OK with only 35k.

Also, what kind of benefits and/or perks come with being a professor in social science or design?

Answer 1

It doesn't pay well, but in most cases, you would be okay if you only needed $40-50K/year. The problem is getting such a job in the first place, which is far from easy, since the supply is pretty high. The other thing you have to realize is that raises in academia aren't what they are in the corporate world. We generally get between 1 and 3% a year, and I know many people at universities where they haven't gotten any salary increases for years. Salary structures tend to be very flat.

As far as benefits and perks, most schools will have a reasonably good retirement plan and a health plan which doesn't require much of a contribution from you (at least for yourself; if you have a family, you may need to pay more for them). We also get dental/eyecare and a small life insurance policy. Anything else we have to pay for ourselves. Many people will point out to you long "vacations" as a perk of the job. The reality of this is that while your time is more flexible than it would be in the corporate world, most junior people, at the very least, take any time away from their teaching to work on their research. Being lazy is just not an option.

You also need to realize that in the social sciences, you generally need a bachelor's degree in the same subject matter in order to get into a doctoral program, so you would need to go back to school to get your bachelor's in one of the fields you mention, then go on for the Ph.D. before you could become a professor. While many Ph.D programs support their own students, you would still have to pay tuition for the second bachelor's degree, so this would not be an inexpensive undertaking.