In the United States, a college professor salary is in general around $72,790. The mean lands at C$124,325 (C$92,325 USD) for professors in Canada and normally runs between £30,000 ($38,230 USD) and £50,000 ($63,716 USD) in the United Kingdom.
College professors earn, on a mean basis, AU$151,200 ($113,718 USD) in Australia, while in Switzerland the median pay is CHF204,000 ($210,646 USD), and in Norway the salary can go up to NOK578,400 ($68,105 USD) per year.
College Professor Salary Influencers
The pay for college professors depends on a mixture of factors, such as hours worked, experience and the nature of the sphere of higher education. In particular, college professors can find a diversity of work environment and fields. Learn below how work setting, experience, and qualifications impact salaries and the career outlook for college professors.
1. Industry
The academic industry consists of universities operated by different types of institutions. College professors work for public, religious, other private and, in the United States, for-profit colleges. In the United States, public universities fall under the umbrella of state-supported systems.
In some countries, the government is the primary, if not exclusive, provider of university education. Each of Switzerland’s cantons, or political subdivisions, run universities. Switzerland also has some federal-level universities. The United Kingdom houses a small group of private colleges, but most institutions are government-operated. Other than religious-affiliated institutions, the predominant majority of bachelor degree-level colleges in Canada are public.
The size of the enrollments, the tuition charged and the academic field also factor into the salaries of college professors. In addition, certain professor positions are endowed, or funded, by foundations and other entities.
2. Geographical Area
College Professor Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | Switzerland | Norway |
Hourly Wage | $35.00 | C$59.78 | £21.63 | AU$72.69 | CHF98.08 | NOK2787.08 |
Annual Wage | $72,790 | C$124,325 (C$92,325 USD) | £45,000 ($38,230 USD) | AU$151,200 ($113,718 USD) | CHF204,000 ($210,646 USD) | NOK578,400 ($68,105 USD) |
College Professor Salary in the US
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay in May 2016 was $75,430 for postsecondary teachers overall. Law professors enjoy the highest reported median, at $111,120 per year. While the mean pay for teachers (not classified by subject) in Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools stands at $72,790 per year. If interested in teaching, you can also read about the high-school teacher salary.
College Professor Salary in Canada
Statistics Canada reports a median pay of C$124,325 for full professors in Canada as of 2016-2017. The figure rests at C$97,423 for associate professors and C$77,169 for assistant professors.
According to Canadian Business magazine, the median for college instructors in Canada stands at C$72,800 per year.
College Professor Salary in the UK
Higher education lecturers in the United Kingdom earn between £33,000 and £55,000 annually.
College Professor Salary in Australia
SalaryExpert reports a mean salary of AU$151,200 for college professors in Australia.
According to the Australian Government’s “Job Bank,” the weekly median is AU$1,951 for full-time University lecturers and tutors. Those who work part-time have a median of AU$1,180, so, around AU$151,200 yearly.
College Professor Salary in Switzerland
The mean pay for Swiss professors stands at CHF17,000 per month, or CHF204,000 on an annual basis.
College Professor Salary in Norway
In Norway, the mean pay for University and higher education teachers stands at NOK48,200 per month or NOK578,400 per year.
3. Experience
For professors in the United States, the entry-level median amounts to $60,000. College professors with five years of experience achieve salaries of $71,000 on a median basis. While the ten-year experience threshold equates to a median of $86,000. With more than 20 years experience, a professor can expect a $99,000 median pay according to Payscale.
Entry-level professors in Canada have a median salary of C$71,000. With five years in the job, the median rises to C$78,000. At ten years of experience, the median is C$91,000, while those who achieve more than 20 years experience see a steep ascent to C$131,000 yearly.
In the United Kingdom, higher education lecturers at the starter level receive £33,000 yearly. The pay increases to £40,000 for experienced lecturers and to £55,000 for highly experienced ones.
Entry-level college professors in Australia make around AU$88,836, while those with eight or more years experience can fetch a mean pay of AU$204,527 per year.
In Switzerland, professors with one to three years of experience have a median salary of CHF66,391. Eight years of experience results in a salary of CHF114,057 yearly. The entry-level pay is NOK492,565 for entry-level professors in Norway and NOK846,201 for senior professors.
Working Hours
While the majority of college professors work full-time, a sizable number teach part-time. In some colleges, professors can work as “adjunct” members of the faculty. These part-timers hold separate jobs and usually teach a course in the field of their profession. In addition to teaching, professors conduct, or lead research, prepare works to be published in academic journals, or for the general public and may testify as experts in court hearings.
Approximately 83 percent of university professors in Canada work full-time. A typical work week for college professors in the United Kingdom lasts 38 to 43 weeks. While in Australia, only 65.1 percent of University lecturers and tutors are full-time. Among these lecturers, the average work-week lasts 41.2 percent.
Bonuses & Benefit Packages
College professors in the United States earned bonuses running from $989 to $49,405, report the same Payscale. The mean bonus registers at C$6,068 per year for professors in Canada.
While those in Australia enjoy bonuses of AU$5,398 on a mean basis and Switzerland’s professors fetch a mean bonus of CHF3,198. Norway’s professors see a bonus of NOK23,657.
Job Outlook
Institutions of higher learning in the United States employed 1,313,000 instructors as of 2014, with an additional 177,000 positions by 2024. BLS says this represents a 13 percent rise in employment in the field. The growth may prove smaller in online colleges and universities as these institutions experience smaller numbers of enrollments.
Job Bank Canada projects that, by 2024, Canada will have 31,900 job openings, while there will be 31,500 seekers of university professor positions. The Canadian Business magazine states that there should be more than one college instructor job for each seeker.
By November 2019, Australia should see between 25,001 and 50,000 openings available for university professors. As of November 2015, the profession numbered 59,100 in the country. EURES’ “European Job Days” ranked University and higher education teachers the third most-required occupation in Norway as of January 2016.
While demand for professors may run high, those who aspire to tenured positions generally must have at least a masters degree, if not a Ph.D., and prior experience in higher education teaching.
Conclusion
Overall, college professors can earn higher salaries with experience, achieving full tenured status with universities that have higher enrollment. In the United States, opportunities for higher-salaried positions in private universities are more likely than other countries which rely primarily on government-run universities. Certain academic fields, such as law and engineering, may afford above-average pay.
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