Professors Do Not Like Their Jobs ??

The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a brief story about a recent survey finding that “[w]ork-life conflicts have caused three out of every four assistant professors to think about leaving their institutions . . ..” It’s not directly relevant to nonprofit law, but I am guessing it is of interest to many contributors and readers of this blog.

The survey of 511 full-time faculty members found that almost “45 percent . . . said they could see themselves leaving academe altogether.  Meanwhile, 65 percent of full professors surveyed said that they had considered leaving their university in the last year.”  One finding was not quite as surprising: “[a]bout 80 percent of faculty members would consider leaving their institution in search of a more supportive work environment.”

I have always thought university teaching was a pretty good gig in that it pays enough to cover the bills and professors are, for the most part, left alone to teach and research on topics they’re interested in.  I am generally wiling to trade “a more supportive environment” for autonomy (though of course they are not mutually exclusive).  It appears that I am an outlier.

TAK