Assistant Professor
Impact: Knowledge creation, Education, Societal advancement
Conducts research, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, and provides service to the university and academic community.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 60% Team / 40% Solo
- Client facing
- Frequent
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 10-20% domestic and international
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 50-60 hours/week
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $90,000
- Entry-level
- $60,000 - $80,000
- Senior
- $120,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 8% (faster than average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate to 50-100% growth from entry to senior, depending on institution and research funding.
- Typical student debt
- $80,000 - $150,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Research Methodology
- Grant Writing
- Statistical Analysis
- Curriculum Development
- Academic Publishing
- Public Speaking
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Mentorship
- Time Management
- Adaptability
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-7 years
- Years to senior
- 10-15 years
- Career switching
- Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Assistant Professor
- Associate Professor
- Full Professor
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 10% to low risk due to high-level cognitive tasks, research, and interpersonal interactions.
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.8/10
- Meaning
- 4.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 3/10
- Prestige
- 8.5/10
- Social perception
- High