Professor

College is all about those big “aha” moments: grasping the use of the subjunctive in Spanish, realizing that race is a socially constructed concept, finally understanding why the sky appears blue. As a Professor, you get to spark young minds every day, just by talking about your favorite subject in the world.

As you introduce the basics to undergraduates, you as a Professor will probably be working with graduate students on more advanced topics, and continuing your own research as well. For a university to want to keep you around as a Faculty Member you’ll have to show that you’re exploring unknown areas of your field and coming up with original, cutting-edge solutions. At many schools, the competition is especially fierce as Professors try to earn tenure, which offers a certain level of job security.

As a Professor, some days you might wonder if anyone else really cares about biological makeup of ancient sea creatures, the history of book publishing, or whatever subject you’ve become the world’s expert on. But for every student who sleeps through class, there’ll be another who has actually read your published work and wants to accompany you on your research trip to Bolivia. And if that’s not enough, at least you’ll still get to take summers off, live in crunchy college towns, and continue avoiding the so-called “real world.”