UC Salaries

I’m really glad to see the Los Angeles public school teachers win an agreement that gives them salaries that are more at the level hard-working professionals deserve.

Now that we have solved that one for the time being, let’s turn to consider the salaries of University of California professors. After spending 3 to 10 years beyond college earning a doctorate--thus starting on their first job at around the age of 30--professors at the University of California must work another 10 to 12 years to rise to the position of associate professor, Step 3--a position which earns them $42,600. So after working long and hard in an extremely competitive environment, our typical professor actually tops $40,000 by the age of 40!

Professors in certain professional schools such as law and medicine earn considerably more, but the standard salary schedule for UC faculty is as described above.

Possibilities for summer teaching and outside consulting exist, but a professor would be unwise to do much of either. All promotions and prestige in one’s field are ultimately tied to research and writing, which must be done in the summer and in any spare time during the school year.

In any case, there is not exactly an abundance of consulting money available for professors in non-science fields anyway.

Isn’t it about time our University of California faculty earned professional salaries too?

MARCIA J. BATES

Van Nuys