Which field of study has the highest professor employment?

[member 624364]

Hi, I was wondering what stem field has the greatest likely hood to employ one as a professor at a university.

I am deciding between mathematics, physics and computer science. My father is a professor in computer science but I am not entirely sure which field I want to become a professor in(or at least attempt to become one).

I used to be dead set on following in the footsteps as my father but in more recent years I have found physics and maths to be very alluring too.

So which of the 3 has the best chances of becoming a professor and a tenure professor?

 

[analogdesign]

It is much, much easier to become a computer science professor than a mathematics or physics professors. First, there is there more demand for new hires (since the comp sci departments are, in general, growing while math and physics departments are, in general static or growing more slowly).

Second, because new CS PhDs have very high-paying alternatives, you will have less competition for a given opening compared to physics or math.

In math and physics, a professorship is pretty much the brass ring that many if not most grad students are going after (even if the vast majority don't achieve it). Based on my conversations with students I think only a small minority of CS students want a professorship since they could make much, much more money (and arguably more interesting work) in industry.

Therefore, if my main career goal were to become a professor, I would choose CS first. After CS, Engineering fields are easier to get professor jobs for the same reason: the strongest engineering PhD graduates have much more lucrative opportunities so many of them don't even consider academia.

All that said, it still isn't easy to become a CS professor as each opening has many strong applicants. But, it is easier than math or physics.

Good luck!

 

[jasonRF]

I agree with analogdesign, although "much, much easier" still means "difficult!"

Many universities have seen dramatic growth in students desiring to major in computer science over the past handful of years, and universities are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. No one can predict the future, and there have been boom-bust cycles in cs enrollment in the past, but if the trend continues we will need many more cs professors in the future than we ever had in the past.

In any case, I recommend studying what you enjoy, especially if you want to be a professor. It would be difficult to come up with good research ideas year after year if you don't love the subject.

Jason

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Most institutions have more math faculty simply because they teach more math courses.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I agree with analogdesign, although "much, much easier" still means "difficult!"

Many universities have seen dramatic growth in students desiring to major in computer science over the past handful of years, and universities are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. No one can predict the future, and there have been boom-bust cycles in cs enrollment in the past, but if the trend continues we will need many more cs professors in the future than we ever had in the past.

In any case, I recommend studying what you enjoy, especially if you want to be a professor. It would be difficult to come up with good research ideas year after year if you don't love the subject.

Jason

I would also agree with @analogdesign , but with the caveat that I suspect that the hiring of CS faculty tends to be focused on current "hot" research fields within CS (e.g. machine learning, visualization, database design, scientific computing). I would imagine that growth in faculty openings in other fields within CS (I'm speaking specifically of, say, theoretical CS) is probably similar to math and physics departments, with static or slow growth.

 

[boneh3ad]

You are not only putting the cart before the horse, but you haven't even bought the horse yet (or decided what breed of horse to buy in the first place). If you want any kind of professorship in the future regardless of the statistics surrounding such a job, you need to find a field about which you feel passionate. You aren't going to successfully complete a PhD, let alone land a professorship, without having a pretty strong passion for a particular field and research area.

 

[mathwonk]

graduate school is very stressful and challenging, and so one needs a lot of inner reward from pursuing the degree one chooses in order to persist to the finish. so i recommend choosing the at5ea that interests you most, and that you most enjoy spending time on.