So, you want to rake in the cash and you also want to be in higher education? Yes, it is possible. Just make sure that you run a medical school or a dermatology lab. If you like the central office then either shoot for being chancellor or better yet CFO. These positions could net you as much as $5,000,000 per year. It would take about two long careers for most theology/humanities professors to earn this kind of cash. Thank goodness there is more to life than money.
>>The median compensation for all employees in the Chronicle survey is $160,493<<!!!!
Median! I suppose the humanities profs are the below median and law, engineering, medical school, business profs. are those above.
By the way, an engineering professor sat in on my Intro to Religion class this summer. She was surprised at how hard I had to work in class. I have to lecture, lead discussion, deal with unusual questions and personal remarks, cheer lead. And she said, You actually make the students think about stuff that’s abstract; you’re making them better thinkers and citizens. I of course totally agreed and said she should suggest I get a raise!
She also thought we humanities profs made a lot of money off all the books we write!! She was genuinely shocked to hear otherwise.
Yes, I think we round out the very bottom of the scale–religious studies has always tied philosophy for dead last in pay in the studies I have seen. That’s pretty crazy that she thought books were a money maker!
I think I hear more news stories about my alma mater (Vanderbilt) along these lines than in any other context–with the possible exception of the stories about our amazing football team. The chancellor is brand new, so just wait until he’s had a few years worth of raises. You should have seen what the last two guys were making by the time they left.