Need to know what to do with that Gender or Ethnic Studies degree? There’s really only one viable option – to teach Gender or Ethnic Studies and perpetuate a cycle of outrage and job security. But a new report shows that might not be such a bad gig, if you can get it.
Professors of “Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies” are paid nearly $12,000 more than the average professor across all disciplines and institutions. They’re paid nearly $16,000 more than the average math professor across all institutions. They’re also paid more than the average biology and biomedical professor, professor of engineering technologies (those who implement the work of engineers), and professor of physical sciences (chemistry, physics, etc.).
Gender and Ethnic Studies professors are paid an average salary of $105,656 across all institutions. Math and statistics professors are paid an average salary of $89,691 across all institutions.
There are some STEM fields where professors are paid more. Computer science professors are paid, on average, $114,183 across all institutions and engineering professors are paid an average salary of $123,144. Law professors are also paid more, on average, as are professors of business and marketing.
Campus Reform points out that this inequality only applies to full professors. Lower-level professors are paid roughly in line with their peers. Associate professors of Gender and Ethnic Studies are paid about $2,700 more than the average associate professor across all disciplines. Assistant professors of Gender Studies are paid roughly $2,000 less than the average assistant professor.
The report is based on the 2017-2018 Faculty Salary Survey for four-year colleges and universities and was conducted by The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The findings include information from 696 institutions and 162,818 full-time tenure-track faculty.
There’s a cartoon that occasionally makes the rounds on social media that depicts a group of women looking to sign up for majors at college. Given the option between “STEM fields” or “Gender Studies,” the women choose the latter. They’re then shown holding protest signs demanding more women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Based on this report, aiming to be a tenured professor of Gender Studies may be the better option.
