Professor Vs. Associate Professor: What’s The Difference?

Becoming a professor is a long process that involves a lot of work and a bit of luck. As you can guess, there are several stages that an aspiring professor has to go through before becoming a full-fledged professor.

It’s clear that an associate professor is different from a full professor. But you may wonder: how, exactly? What makes someone an associate professor rather than just a professor? And how does one move from associate professor to full professor?

The main difference is this: tenure. Tenure is both job security and prestige. Tenured professors can’t be fired without cause, and they have a lot more freedom in what research they pursue and what they can publish.

It should be noted that the idea of tenure is beginning to be debated, and it’s possible that not every professor is tenured anymore. Even if a professor isn’t tenured, so long as they’re a full professor, they still get the prestige, paycheck, and research freedom mentioned above.

Key Takeaways:

Professor	Associate Professor
Professor is the highest tier of professorship.	Associate professor is the middle tier of professorship.
A professor is usually tenured.	An associate professor is typically not tenured.
Professors are required to do research, publish papers, and teach classes. They have a lot of freedom in what they choose to study and receive a lot of recognition and prestige from the research they do.	Associate professors also need to do research, publish academic papers, and teach classes. However, both their freedom in terms of choosing subjects and the amount of recognition they receive from it is curtailed.
Professors make a median salary of $158,000 per year.	Associate professors average about $97,000 per year.

What Is a Professor?

A professor is someone who’s employed by a university that teaches classes, gives lectures, and does research. Of course, it isn’t that simple – what your area of expertise is, what university employs you, and how much grant money you and your area of research get all alter your responsibilities.

Most professors are involved in research, and many universities have requirements for how many papers they have to get published in professional journals per year in order to keep their status.

Processors are experts in their area of study. Almost all – if not all – of them have done postdoctoral work. They’ve worked their way up through being a research assistant and assistant professor, and associate professor to be given the full role of professor.

Many professors will be given research grants to work with as well and will be the ones directing the research. Many grants will be more likely to be granted to a prestigious professor or university.

What Is an Associate Professor?

An associate professor is someone who’s on the road to becoming a full professor. Associate professors do all the things that professors do, such as teaching classes, giving lectures, and working on research.

However, there are a few differences. Associate professors aren’t as experienced or skilled in their field because they haven’t had as long to work within the field. They typically aren’t in charge of the research projects, instead having more of a middle management role.

Because of this, they also don’t get the same recognition and prestige as full professors do. They aren’t the ones in charge of the project, so they take less risk and get less reward.

To further their understanding of their field of study, associate professors are also required to do research, publish articles, and attend conferences devoted to it.

Tips for Becoming a Professor

Being a professor is all about being an academic expert on a subject. That means that you have to enjoy learning in an academic setting and find research engaging.
Professional connections are going to be one of the best ways to get to be a professor. It’s notoriously difficult to get hired at any level of professor (unless you already are one), but if you have a mentor to help you, it’s easier.
Being a professor means you’re going to have to deal with bureaucracy. If you work for a university, it’s guaranteed – and the bigger and more prestigious the school, the more of it there are likely to be. But in addition to that, getting grants is going to require dealing with governmental regulations.
Professors are some of the most socially prestigious career positions there are. It’s a lot of work because of that, which means you have to be very long-term and goal-focused.

Professor vs. Associate Professor FAQ

Is an associate professor higher than an assistant professor?

Yes, an associate professor is a higher position than an assistant professor. Assistant professors are just getting started on becoming a professor. They assist a professor with their research, classes, and other duties.

Associate professors have moved up to mid-level. They aren’t as experienced, which means they get less freedom than professors, but they do their own research, teach, and publish in academic journals.
Is doctor a higher title than professor?

No, doctor isn’t a higher title than professor. Anyone who has a doctoral degree receives the honorific doctor, while you can only be called a professor if you work at a university as one. It’s less that one is more prestigious than the other then they have different meanings.
What are the different levels of professors?

There are three tiers of professor: assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. They’re in that order in terms of experience and prestige.

You start out as an assistant professor, helping a professor with their work. Then you become an associate professor and do your own teaching and research. Once you’ve gained enough experience, then you become a full professor.

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Di Doherty

Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.

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