How To Become A College Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a college professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Rebecca Sarver

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a college professor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $39.04 an hour? That's $81,207 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a college professor?

Rebecca Sarver

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

Listen more than you talk. There is so much to be learned from clients, seasoned human service workers, and the community that you work within. By listening and observing versus always feeling compelled to speak, you will learn job skills, people skills, and your clients' needs.

ScoreCollege ProfessorUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $81,207

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.31%

Black or African American 7.07%

Hispanic or Latino 10.08%

Unknown 4.92%

White 66.33%

Gender

female 49.83%

male 50.17%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a college professor

Explore college professor education requirements

Most common college professor degrees

Bachelor's

46.1 %

Master's

32.9 %

Doctorate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific college professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Curriculum Development	30.74%
Classes Taught	8.82%
Mathematics	6.48%
Syllabus	4.47%
Semester	3.98%

Research college professor duties and responsibilities

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Create and teach lessons about business management, business procedures, economics, finance, and religion
Model when creating new course work each semester.
Work as a part-time mathematics instructor teaching courses from basic mathematics to pre-calculus in the evening program.

Prepare your college professor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your college professor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a college professor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable college professor resume templates

Build a professional college professor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your college professor resume.