How do i become a professor? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

This depends on a lot of factors, including where you get your Ph.D., where you want to look for a job, what field you research, whether or not your research is considered cutting-edge when you go on the job market, etc. In general, though, right now there are too many History Ph.D.s and not enough tenure-track jobs to support all of them. This could change in 10 or 15 years but I don't anticipate it will.

In the US, a Ph.D. in history can take anywhere from 5-8 years, depending on if you arrive with an M.A., or if the program offers joint M.A.+Ph.D., or if the program even needs an M.A. before going straight into the Ph.D.

Once you get your Ph.D., you'll likely bounce between temporary positions for several years, often some combination of Postdoctoral Fellowships and Visiting Assistant Professorships. The number of years you might spend doing this varies greatly, but it has become very rare for someone to finish their Ph.D. and immediately land a permanent tenure-track job, even for graduates of the best history programs in the world (like the Ivy Leagues).

The field you research, and the demand for that field, will also dramatically affect your job prospects. For example, right now the only fields doing well (in the US) in terms of number of positions vs. number of people with appropriate qualifications are 1) world history, 2) African-American history, and 3) African history. While I don't know specific numbers for Viking history (assuming that's what you're going for, based on your comment), I am willing to bet that is a very competitive field. I can't remember the last time I saw a position for exclusively viking history. You'd be better off selling yourself as a historian of medieval northern Europe.

The good news is, though, if you can land a tenure-track job in the US, the salary is almost always great, or at least absolutely livable for the remainder of your working life! I believe the average salary in the US for a starting assistant professor is around $55,000, a number that changes depending on the area's cost of living. The flip side is you're probably going to work long hours. You don't just work 9-5 and call it a day. You work until you've finished all your teaching, grading, and administrative responsibilities (like attending meetings or, god forbid, you're the chair of your department that year) and if you have spare hours in the day before crashing to bed, working on your own research. Also, given the competitive nature of the field, the only way to get ahead is, as you said, to publish more. More books, more articles, do more conference panels, etc. Unfortunately the industry is heavily focused on producing writing on your own, and presenting your solo work. There is little professional incentive, and few opportunities, to advance your career in other ways, like collaborative writing, program-building, etc. This is slowly changing, but it's taking a while. EDIT: I should add there is another career path, the teaching-heavy career, usually at a small liberal arts college or a community college. You generally teach more and research/publish less. This is what I'm aiming for, personally. It's absolutely viable, and usually these positions don't have as strict publishing requirements to get tenure, but the flip side is, if you stop publishing frequently, it's almost impossible to get back into the research side of the industry, which can limit the number of unis/colleges you can move to later in your career.

There are a couple silver linings. You say you've already got Russian, English, and Italian, which is fantastic. Add another language, or even two, and you'll be in a great spot to do some really cool, innovative research with multiple archives that few or no other scholars have the ability to do. Also, if you want to make extra money, textbooks are the way to go. They take a lot of work but from what I've heard, you can make bank with them. Alternatively, if you're a good writer (in the traditional sense), you can publish "popular history" with a traditional (i.e. nonacademic) publisher.

These are all my own understandings for the US market, as someone who is finishing his Ph.D. in a month and successfully got a visiting assistant professorship at a small liberal arts college. I was even fortunate enough to get three on-campus interviews for visiting posts, and get offers for all three. I know many colleagues who have not had the luck I did.

TLDR: it's a lot of hard, and often unforgiving work to become a history professor. Only do it if you absolutely love it.