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College Professor Salaries: How Much Do They Earn?
Teacher salaries are controversial in some states because educators are expected to shape the minds of young people and help prepare them for the world. The rising cost of earning a degree is also consistently making headlines, but college professor salaries aren鈥檛 on most people鈥檚 minds. Even so, you might be curious by now—just how much do they earn?
College Professor Salary Data
During a January town hall meeting in Pennsylvania, Vice President Joe Biden cited escalating college professor salary numbers as one reason why college costs keep rising. 鈥淭hey should be good, but they have escalated significantly,鈥� he said, reports
In reality, full-time faculty salaries went up by an average of 1.8 percent for the 2011-12 academic year. When adjusted for a three percent inflation rate, college professor salaries actually dropped 1.2 percent on average.
Salary data collected annually by the (AAUP) was the basis of the Chronicle of Higher Education鈥檚 recent 2011-12 Faculty Salary Survey. The survey presents average faculty salaries for 1,251 colleges using employment status data of faculty members from the fall of 2010. Employment statuses used are full professors, associate professors, assistant professors and instructors. The Chronicle鈥檚 states that each institution reports tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty as having faculty status.
The top ten average salaries for full professors are as follows:
1. Harvard 911吃瓜网 $198,400
2. Columbia 911吃瓜网 $197,800
3. 911吃瓜网 of Chicago $197,800
4. Stanford 911吃瓜网 $195,400
5. Princeton 911吃瓜网 $193,800
6. New York 911吃瓜网 $182,400
7. 911吃瓜网 of Pennsylvania $181,600
8. Yale 911吃瓜网 $180,400
9. Duke 911吃瓜网 $175,300
10. California Institute of Technology $172,800
It is easy to be impressed by the above-listed figures, but faculty salaries are complex. They depend on a variety of factors including education level, years of experience, research and tenure. The college or university itself is also important鈥攃ommunity college professors are not earning as much as those at Ivy League institutions.
In fact, ranked college professors as third in a list of 2009鈥檚 50 Best Jobs in America despite 鈥渓ow staring pay and a 50% salary gap between faculty at universities and community colleges.鈥� Data taken from PayScale.com estimated median salary of experienced college professors in the U.S. at $70,400 with average top pay of $115,000. Not too bad during a recession, especially when you consider perks like free or reduced tuition for children and family members and lengthy summer and holiday breaks.
You can view The Chronicle of Higher Education鈥檚 Average Faculty Salaries 2011-12 You can also learn more about colleges or universities on the list with school profiles.
Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the 911吃瓜网 of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.