
There are only a few occupations that present the perfect mixture of riches and standing. Being a professor is certainly one of them.
Tenured professors are in a position to make six-figure incomes. Getting a PhD or a post-doctorate is the head of educational achievement. In the meantime, most individuals respect professors for his or her constructive contributions to society.
After I retired from finance in 2012, I thought of getting a PhD. Given I had sufficient passive revenue, I may afford to return to highschool for a number of years. With a PhD, I’d then have the choice of turning into a college professor.
Instructing is one thing I totally get pleasure from doing, as hopefully evidenced by my writing on Monetary Samurai. I’m at all times interested in new ideas and theories as a result of the world is at all times altering.
My Quest To Change into An Educational Professor
Stanford College had a Communications Division that supplied a PhD program so I drove down to fulfill with some professors. I confirmed them what I used to be as much as on Monetary Samurai they usually have been not impressed.
However I did meet with the top of the Grasp’s program for Journalism who was very nice. She inspired me to use. However I made a decision to not after auditing certainly one of their programs on beginning your individual WordPress website. On the time, I had been working Monetary Samurai on WordPress for nearly 4 years. I additionally have already got a Grasp’s diploma in Enterprise Administration.
Inside a month time interval, I noticed getting a PhD and turning into a professor was not attainable for me. First, you need to have taken the prerequisite programs. Second, you need to have nice grades and take a look at scores. Third, it is advisable to have a transparent thought of what drawback you need to clear up or analysis.
Even when I bought my PhD in communications, this can be very tough to get a professor job at a serious college. Solely the most effective of the most effective get tenure at a high 25 college. Most stay affiliate or assistant professors for his or her complete careers. See the feedback part from division chairs and professors for extra insights on the tough of turning into a tenured professor.
Not one to surrender on my desires, I appeared into turning into a public college instructor as a substitute. Then I discovered the final word job of being a highschool tennis coach. The job would fulfill my need to show a topic I used to be captivated with.
Three Causes Why Being A Professor Is The Greatest Occupation
Just lately, three issues occurred that made me need to think about turning into a professor once more. These causes present why being a professor has the perfect mix of riches and standing.
1) Professors are in a position to purchase multi-million greenback properties
Reuters reported official property data present that Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, his dad and mom, and senior executives of the failed cryptocurrency trade purchased a minimum of 19 properties price practically $121 million within the Bahamas over the previous two years.
Given actual property is my favourite asset class to construct wealth, my eyes lit up as soon as I noticed the information. An eight-figure actual property portfolio is a good way to arrange my household for all times.
The typical Stanford professor makes about $250,000. Given Sam’s dad and mom are tenured professors of their late-60s, let’s say Joseph Bankman makes $300,000 and Barbara Fried additionally makes $300,000.
A mixed revenue of $600,000 is a high 1% revenue. With a 20% down cost, Bankman and Fried may comfortably purchase as much as a $3,000,000 trip property within the Bahamas.
However from the sound of the Reuters article, it appears to be like like Bankman and Fried purchased a trip property price $16.4 million within the Bahamas!
Listed below are some pics of a $16 million property within the Bahamas known as the Hibiscus Property Residence in Crescent Bay. I like the infinity pool on one aspect and the seaside on the opposite aspect.

Right here’s an ideal view from one of many important bedrooms overlooking the ocean and sundown. You may grade papers within the out of doors scorching tub whereas having a yummy beverage!

Professors make greater than we understand
We are able to conclude being a professor is a really profitable occupation. Utilizing my revenue system for purchasing property, Bankman and Fried must have revamped $3.28 million to afford a $16.4 million trip property.
Or, Sam Bankman-Fried misappropriated shopper funds to purchase properties for his firm, himself, his executives, and his dad and mom. It’s exhausting to say as a result of non-public corporations have the suitable to purchase properties for enterprise use.
Or possibly Sam Bankman-Fried and his executives are merely following my information on turning humorous cash into actual property to stay wealthy. Making a conglomerate is a well-liked method to maintain onto a fortune and construct an empire. If FTX disappeared, a minimum of they might have luxurious properties to get pleasure from.
Name me naive, however it doesn’t make sense for tenured regulation professors at a prestigious college to be part of misappropriating funds. It could destroy their reputations and their remaining years of life. Who would need to spend over a decade in jail throughout your twilight years?
After I’m 67 years outdated, I’d somewhat simply get pleasure from what I’ve and lead a easy life. Upholding the household identify for my kids can be essential. However possibly I’ll change my thoughts in 22 years.
2) Professors have nice advantages for his or her youngsters who attend school
Certainly one of my son’s buddies has a mother who works at Stanford. She’s not a professor, however a scientist with a PhD. When her son graduates highschool, her son could have a leg up in admissions if he applies to Stanford. And if he will get in, he solely has to pay half the price of tuition.
My tennis buddy, who additionally works at Stanford corroborated this profit. Actually, he joked he’d be prepared to undertake my youngsters when they’re in highschool to assist get them in, for a payment after all. Even when they didn’t get into Stanford, they might nonetheless get half the Stanford tuition a yr towards any college my youngsters attend.
In different phrases, let’s say Stanford’s tuition is $60,000 a yr. If my youngsters attend The Faculty of William & Mary, we’d get $30,000 a yr to pay for his or her attendance at William & Mary. Not dangerous! Different universities pay 100% of tuition for school and workers kids who attend their dad or mum’s college.
The College students For Truthful Admissions v. Harvard College lawsuit supplied an unprecedented have a look at how Harvard makes admissions selections. Utilizing publicly launched stories, listed below are the preferences Harvard provides for recruited athletes, legacies, these on the dean’s curiosity record, and kids of college and workers (ALDCs).
A 46.7% admit charge for ALDCs versus a 6.6% admit charge for non-ALDCs is a big distinction! If you happen to’re an Asian applicant, then it turns into much more tempting to grow to be a college professor to assist equalize the admissions course of to your youngsters.

3) Professors could make numerous aspect revenue
From level one, we be taught some professors can afford extraordinarily costly properties on their salaries. However how precisely? Let’s have a look at respectable methods by which professors can earn extra money.
I spent two-and-a-half years writing, modifying, and advertising my ebook, Purchase This, Not That. Throughout this time, I noticed there are various bestselling nonfiction authors who’re professors.
Listed below are only a few from Portfolio Penguin, the imprint that represents me.
- Cal Newport (Georgetown)
- Scott Galloway (NYU)
- Arthur C. Brooks (Harvard)
- Jeremy Utley (Stanford)
These professors have neatly leveraged their standing as professors at main universities to grow to be authorities of their respective fields. With such authority and standing, they’re then in a position to signal profitable ebook offers each couple of years.
Given certainly one of a professor’s tasks is to publish, publishing a ebook on their experience is true down their alley. With so many connections, a professor can simply draw on many different consultants to offer nice worth and referrals to advertise their ebook.
Let’s say you make $250,000 as a professor. As a result of your standing and platform, you signal a $100,000 – $1 million ebook deal. Simply from wage and ebook offers alone, you could possibly make $300,000 to $750,000 every year as a professor. Books often take two years to supply and advances are paid out in three or 4 installments.
See: Making Cash Historically Publishing A Guide
Extra Methods A Professor Can Make Extra Cash
After publishing a Wall Road Journal bestseller, professors can then make extra cash talking. A one-hour talking gig pays wherever from $1,000 – $50,000. Since chatting with a classroom is a part of the job, doing paid talking gigs must be a cinch.
I’m positive once we invited Malcolm Gladwell to talk on the Credit score Suisse Asia Funding Convention in Hong Kong, my agency paid him someplace within the six-figures. Flights, lodge, and meals have been all paid for.
Then there are the consulting charges a professor can earn of their respective fields. Companies or rich benefactors pays professors to do analysis on a mission to advance their product or ideology.
In 2022, Stanford professor Jo Boaler charged $40,000 for eight hours of consulting work to the Oxnard College District. $5,000/hour to assist public college lecturers train arithmetic higher is fairly good!
In different phrases, there are limitless methods by which professors could make some huge cash past their day jobs. Intellectuals with experience of their discipline are at all times in excessive demand.
It’s merely not true the saying, “Those that can’t, train.” As an alternative, some professors should not solely educating however are additionally making financial institution.
Being A Professor Is The Excellent Mix Of Riches And Standing
The revenue potential and standing mixture of being a professor could also be unbeatable. The one different occupation that mixes each riches and standing is being a health care provider. Attorneys, bankers, technique consultants, and techies receives a commission nicely, however don’t command as a lot respect.
Being an creator isn’t dangerous on the standing entrance. Nevertheless, it’s brutally tough to make a residing as a author alone. Most authors want day jobs to outlive. Even if you’re one of many ~0.3% of authors who make a nationwide bestseller record, the cash from one ebook advance could solely be sufficient to assist you.
As a professor, you could possibly make a high 0.1% revenue and no one would know. In true stealth wealth vogue, you could possibly simply mix in with the center class and truly be embraced by the bulk. To really feel included and revered is great.
Being Adjunct Professor Is One other Choice
The one drawback with turning into a professor is the quantity of schooling one must grow to be one. Tenured professor positions at too universities are scarce. Subsequently, possibly the second-best answer is to grow to be an adjunct professor.
An adjunct teacher is a part-time school member who’s employed on a contractual foundation. They could train for only some semesters earlier than they return to their trade full-time.
Though you gained’t make some huge cash as an adjunct professor, you’ll achieve some standing. Hopefully, as an adjunct professor, you’re already making loads of cash elsewhere.
If there’s anyone from Berkeley or Stanford on the market in search of an adjunct professor to show private finance, investing, actual property, branding, ebook publishing, and on-line entrepreneurship, shoot me an e-mail! As soon as my daughter attends preschool three days per week in 2023, I’ll have extra time.
All I request is a non-public parking spot close to campus and a lunch voucher! Thanks to your consideration.
Reader Questions
Readers, do you suppose being a professor is the perfect occupation for revenue and standing? If not, what occupation do you suppose supplies a greater mixture?
For extra nuanced private finance content material, be part of 55,000+ others and join the free Monetary Samurai publication and posts by way of e-mail. Monetary Samurai, began in 2009, is among the largest independently-owned private finance websites.