Employment of college professors is projected to grow 8 percent from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This prediction covers the outlook for both part-time and full-time teachers. Total undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by 9 percent (from 15.4 million to 16.8 million students) between 2021 and 2031, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Retirement of current faculty members will also provide job openings. However, competition for full-time, tenure-track positions at four-year schools will be very strong.
A number of factors threaten to change the way colleges and universities hire faculty. Some university leaders are developing more business-based methods of running their schools, focusing on profits and budgets. This can affect college professors in a number of ways. One of the biggest effects is in the replacement of tenure-track faculty positions with part-time instructors. These part-time instructors include adjunct faculty, visiting professors, and graduate students. "Over two-thirds (68 percent) of faculty members in U.S. colleges and universities held contingent appointments in fall 2021, compared with about 47 percent in fall 1987," according to Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education, from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). “Overreliance on contingent appointments, which lack the protection of tenure for academic freedom and the economic security of continuing appointments, threatens the success of institutions in fulfilling their obligations to students and to society,” according to the report. Another AAUP report, the Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2017-18, found that only 5 percent of reporting institutions said that they offered benefits to all part-time faculty. Another 33 percent offered some benefits to part-time faculty. Organizations such as the AAUP and the American Federation of Teachers are working to prevent the loss of these full-time jobs, as well as to help part-time instructors receive better pay and benefits. The trend of colleges and universities hiring more part-time instructors will continue for the foreseeable future, according to the DOL.
Other issues involve the current popular utilization of online education at many schools. Some professionals believe that students in online education programs receive a second-rate education. The DOL believes that enrollment is expected to decrease in online colleges and universities. As a result, there will be less demand for postsecondary teachers in postsecondary online schools.
A related concern is about the proliferation of computers in the classroom. Some courses consist only of instruction by computer software and the Internet. The effects of these alternative methods on the teaching profession may be offset somewhat by the anticipated increases in college enrollment in coming years.
While overall employment of postsecondary teachers is projected to increase, it will vary by academic discipline. For example, job opportunities for nursing and health specialties teachers are projected to grow by 18 percent through 2033 because an aging population demands health care services. However, postsecondary anthropology and archeology teachers teachers are only projected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations (4 percent) because there are not similar demographic or economic factors driving the growth of this field.
- Adapted Physical Education Specialists
- Adult and Vocational Education Teachers
- Anthropologists
- Archaeologists
- Art Teachers
- Athletic Directors
- Biophysicists
- Book Editors
- Career and Employment Counselors
- Career and Employment Technicians
- College Administrators
- Community Nutrition Educators
- Computer Trainers
- Cooking Instructors
- Cultural Advisers
- Curriculum Coordinators
- Dance School Owners and Managers
- Distance Learning Coordinators
- Driving School Owners and Instructors
- Education Directors and Museum Teachers
- Edupreneurs
- Elementary School Teachers
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Ethnoscientists
- Flight Instructors
- Foreign Service Officers
- Guidance Counselors
- Health Educators
- Instructional Coordinators
- Instructional Designers
- Interpreters
- Journalism Teachers
- Learning Innovations Designers
- Library and Information Science Instructors
- Linguists
- Mathematics Teachers
- Music Teachers
- Nursing Instructors
- Physical Education Teachers
- Preschool Teachers
- School Administrators
- School Nurses
- Secondary School Teachers
- Sign Language and Oral Interpreters
- Special Education Teachers
- Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
- Teacher Aides
- Translators
- Tutors and Trainers