Doctoral degree in accounting: life of an accounting professor
2. Pros and cons of an accounting professor career
As we can see, the first ten years on the job can be quite demanding and stressful for accounting academics. To become successful, many work 70+ hours per week, which is not very compatible with other responsibilities. However, for those who receive tenure, there is “light at the end of the tunnel.” There are many perks that academic lifestyle brings.
Pros:
- Intellectual rigor: if you enjoy creating knowledge, accounting academia provides an excellent opportunity to do so.
- Flexible schedule: only class teaching time is fixed or committed, and faculty can spend the rest of their time working at any place and during any time.
- Tenure: tenure is defined as “giving someone a permanent post.” Not many jobs offer job security as part of the contract. As such, tenure is one of pros that tenure-track academic jobs offer, if you are lucky to receive tenure.
- Compensation: due to the low supply (and high demand in some years or in some areas), most accounting professors are offered good compensation packages. Tenure-track assistant professors usually start at $100,000+ per year at lower ranked institutions and $200,000+ at highly ranked institutions. Many assistant professors in accounting will earn between $100,000-$250,000 for just 9 months of work, and many do not teach during summer months. However, most will be very busy during summer months working on research.
- Respect: academic jobs are usually well-respected.
- Additional perks: some accounting professors receive endowment funding and thus can received additional financial support for their research efforts.
Cons:
- Stress: the first few years on the job can be very stressful because of the tenure clock. Also, it is important to build and manage relationships with other academics, which can be stressful for some. Getting tenure is like being invited to join an “exclusive club”: in addition to research output (i.e., academic currency), it is important to fit into the culture at the specific department, business school, and university. Some may feel pressure to manage impressions, which reduces authenticity and hence increases stress.
- Bubble: as an accounting professor, regardless of your rank, you will find yourself working in a small bubble. Unfortunately, most accounting research papers are never read by accounting practitioners and regulators. Even other academics are less likely to read research output of other academics (unless they are citing your paper or just browsing to see if there are any publication trends). As such, most accounting academic papers are written for a handful of other accounting academics (i.e., editors, reviewers, and a few ad hoc readers). Some, however, do enjoy working in a small bubble and getting respect or admiration from a few fellow academics.
- Capped creativity: as noted earlier, many accounting academics work in an academic bubble. That applies not only to research but also to teaching. Traditional accounting curriculum is standardized and rigid, providing limited opportunities for creativity. For some, accounting academic environment can be boring and not engaging.
- Capped earnings potential: while accounting professors are relatively well-compensated for their skills and time, for most their earnings potential is capped. Academics’ salaries are usually adjusted for inflation every few years. The promotion from assistant professor to associate professor and from associate professor to full professor does not usually result in a significant compensation increase. A position as a department chair also carries a small compensation increase. Only a few become deans or associate deans, which provides a significant compensation increase (e.g., $250,000- 300,000 per year salary). Thus, academic jobs provide limited earnings growth for most faculty members. In contrast, working in industry can provide more opportunities for earnings growth. For example, if one has skills and works 70+ hours per week for ten years (i.e., comparable to 5 years in a doctoral program and 6 years as an assistant professor), one can become a partner in a CPA firm making more than $500,000 per year. At the same point in the career, an assistant or associate professor (if lucky to get tenure after six years as an assistant professor) may earn $150,000-$250,000 per year, or less.
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