If choose to stay in academia after I am done with being a student, I would most likely become a professor. Even though that job is highly respected in our society, I think every PhD student has a shot at it. As I am one of them, let me entertain that thought for a bit. Maybe I will like it.

If I were a professor, I would teach. From being a student in class or a presenter in conferences, I would now be expected to facilitate the learning process for anyone who are willing to learn about my knowledge area. I would influence how they approach the intellectual field that I claim expertise in. That could in turn influence their entire career ahead as they may or may not choose to work in that field. And I wouldn’t know that at all until 5 or 10 years later when I see them again in places such as LinkedIn. They could become my colleagues whose opinions I should respect.

If I were a professor, I would do research. If I successfully go through the competitive application process, I would receive a sizeable sum of money, either from my university, the NSF, or a company who invests in my abilitiy to discover useful knowledge for the world. I would also have the right to recruit, hire, and manage students, mostly graduate-level, to work on my ideas. This means being an entrepreneur running a company, but in the academic environment. Knowing that each area of research is distinct with its own challenges, I would have the responsibility and priviledge to decide which area to work on, down to the specific research questions. My minimum requirement would be to publish a sufficient amount of impactful work in my first 6 years. If I pass, I would be hired to work like that for the rest of my life (tenure). Otherwise, I would be fired. But afterall, the objective is to produce knowledge.

If I were a professor, my life would probably be slow and steady. My problems would be so hard that it rarely sees quick progress. Therefore, sometimes I would look to my entrepreneurial peers and feel bad about the slow pace in my job. And it could be even worse when external pressure comes in, asking for more “output”. I might have been trying my best, spending 60 hours a week on the job, but roablocks appear and prevent me to reaching the goals. And I might wonder if there a long road on earth that doesn’t have blockages.

If I were a professor, I would become attached to the university I am in, as well as the research community I am in. I would develop lifelong friendships in those communities, with the co-authors, the other professors in the same hall way, or the alumni who used to see me in office hours. I would refrain from job-switching because doing so requires a lot of work. However, I would be entitled to travel internationally at least once every year for conferences.

And if I were a professor, I would probably get paid enough to raise a family.