Is Becoming a Professor in Engineering Easier Than in Pure Sciences?

[thegreenlaser]

I've come to understand that becoming a professor in pure sciences like physics and math is not an easy task. The impression I've gotten from reading these forums and talking to profs is that its something you go for if you're really passionate about it, but only if you're really passionate about it because the sacrifice required is huge, and the chances of getting a good position in a reasonable time frame are so low (too many PhD students compared to the number of research positions, etc.) My question is: what about engineering? How difficult is it to become a professor at a university engineering department?

It seems to me that there's far more young engineering profs at my school, and I imagine that's because most engineering students become engineers, leaving less demand for teaching/research positions. Is that accurate in any way?

 

[MECHster]

It seems to me that there's far more young engineering profs at my school, and I imagine that's because most engineering students become engineers, leaving less demand for teaching/research positions. Is that accurate in any way?

That's true, however there are way more engineering students than physics students. I have no data, however, I'd think the odds of becoming an engineering professor is not very good, and perhaps is very similar to becoming a science professor.

 

[thegreenlaser]

I suppose that's true, but would that not increase the demand for faculty members in engineering as well? I'm sure it's not directly proportional, but I would think there are significantly more engineering profs in a given university than there are physics or math profs. Then again, I'm just speculating with only a freshman year's worth of observations to work with. Is there anyone who's gone through that process who would be willing to shed some light on their experiences?