Professors in the United States

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Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" is often used to refer to anyone who teaches at a college of university level at any academic rank.^[1] This usage differs from the predominant usage of the word professor in other countries, where the unqualified word "professor" only refers to "full professors" (i.e., the highest rank among regular faculty). Other tenure-track faculty positions include assistant professor (entry level) and associate professor (mid-level). Other teaching-focused positions that use the term "professor" include Clinical Professor, Professor of Practice, and Teaching Professor (specific roles and status vary widely among institutions, but usually do not involve tenure). Most faculty with titles of "Lecturer" and "Instructor" in the U.S. are not eligible for tenure (as of 2015^[update]), though they are still often referred to as "professors" in a general sense and as a courtesy form of address.^[2] Non-tenure-track positions may be full or part time, although the qualifier "adjunct" always denotes part-time (whether combined with the word "professor" or not).

Research and education are among the main tasks of tenured and tenure-track professors, with the amount of time spent on research or teaching depending strongly on the type of institution. Publication of articles in conferences, journals, and books is essential to occupational advancement.^[3] In 2011, a survey conducted by TIAA-CREF Institute senior researcher Paul J. Yakoboski estimated that 73% of professors with senior tenure ranged between the ages of 60 and 66 and that the remaining 27% were above the age of 66.^[4] Yakoboski estimated that 75% of these professors have acknowledged that they have made no preparations for retirement due to the ongoing financial crisis and reluctance to leave their profession.^[4] A 2013 survey conducted by Fidelity Investments would echo similar results when the question about retirement came up.^[5]

In 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics counted 189,692 professors, 162,095 associate professors, 166,543 assistant professors, 96,627 instructors, 44,670 lecturers, and 164,720 other full-time faculty.^[6]