English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
SOC Code: 25-1123.00
Education & LibraryPostsecondary English language and literature teachers guide students through the study of writing, literary analysis, linguistics, and critical thinking at colleges and universities across the country. Earning a median salary of $78,270, these educators shape how students read, interpret, and communicate, skills that underpin success in virtually every profession. The role combines deep scholarly engagement with the creative and intellectual rewards of mentoring emerging writers and thinkers.
Salary Overview
Median
$78,270
25th Percentile
$59,780
75th Percentile
$103,730
90th Percentile
$154,800
Salary Distribution
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Growth Rate
+0.0%
New Openings
5,100
Outlook
Slower than average
Key Skills
Knowledge Areas
What They Do
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Assist students who need extra help with their coursework outside of class.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Schedule courses.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
Tools & Technology
★ = Hot Technology (in-demand)
Education Requirements
Typical entry-level education: Related Work Experience
Related Careers
Top Career Pivot Targets
View all 26 →Careers with the highest skill compatibility from English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary.
A Day in the Life
A typical day for an English professor begins with reviewing student submissions, preparing discussion questions, or finalizing lecture notes for upcoming classes. Classroom time involves leading seminars on literary works, facilitating writing workshops where students critique each other's work, or delivering lectures on topics ranging from medieval poetry to contemporary rhetoric. Professors spend considerable time providing detailed written feedback on student essays, research papers, and creative writing projects, often annotating work extensively to support each student's development. Office hours bring one-on-one meetings with students seeking guidance on thesis arguments, writing technique, graduate school applications, or career planning. Research and scholarship occupy a substantial portion of the week, with professors analyzing primary texts, reviewing scholarly criticism, composing journal articles, and working on book-length projects. Committee service includes participation in hiring committees, curriculum review boards, and academic policy discussions that shape departmental and institutional direction. Creative writing faculty may also dedicate time to their own literary projects, as publishing fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction often factors into tenure and promotion evaluations. Evening hours might include attending campus readings, theater productions, or guest lectures that connect to their scholarly and pedagogical interests.
Work Environment
English professors work primarily in academic environments including campus offices, classrooms, seminar rooms, and university libraries. Offices typically serve as spaces for individual scholarship, student consultations, and class preparation, often filled with books and personal research materials. Classrooms range from large lecture halls for introductory courses to intimate seminar rooms for upper-division and graduate-level discussions. The academic calendar structures the year into intensive teaching semesters and research-focused summers, sabbaticals, and intersession periods. Most professors enjoy considerable flexibility in scheduling research time, choosing work locations, and structuring non-teaching days according to personal productivity patterns. The intellectual culture values critical inquiry, lively debate, interdisciplinary dialogue, and respect for diverse interpretive perspectives. Conferences and literary festivals provide opportunities for professional engagement, intellectual exchange, and travel that can range from regional workshops to international symposia. The solitary nature of reading, writing, and research is balanced by the social engagement of teaching and collegial interaction, though some find the isolation of scholarly work challenging.
Career Path & Advancement
The standard pathway to a tenure-track English professorship requires a doctoral degree in English, comparative literature, or a related humanities discipline, typically completed over five to eight years beyond the bachelor's degree. Master of Fine Arts degrees in creative writing provide an alternative credential for positions focused on creative writing instruction, particularly at programs that emphasize literary production alongside scholarship. Adjunct and visiting instructor positions are common entry points, though they offer lower pay and fewer benefits than tenure-track roles, creating a competitive market for permanent positions. The tenure track progresses from assistant to associate to full professor, with each stage requiring demonstrated excellence in teaching, publication, and service over six or more years. Department chair positions provide administrative leadership experience with modest stipends, while associate dean and dean roles offer higher-level academic management with greater compensation above the $78,270 median. Distinguished professorships, endowed chairs, and named lectureships recognize exceptional scholarly achievement and carry significant prestige and financial benefits. Some professors transition to administrative careers in academic publishing, university press management, or foundation program direction, leveraging their scholarly expertise in institutional contexts.
Specializations
American literature specialists focus on particular periods such as Colonial, Transcendentalist, Modernist, or contemporary American fiction and poetry, often examining themes of identity, democracy, and cultural formation. British literature encompasses specializations from Anglo-Saxon and medieval studies through Renaissance, Romantic, Victorian, and modern British literary traditions. Rhetoric and composition specialists study writing processes, pedagogical theory, and discourse analysis, playing essential roles in university writing programs and first-year composition curricula. Creative writing professors teach and practice fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, or playwriting, often maintaining active publishing careers alongside their academic work. Linguistics specialists examine language structure, acquisition, sociolinguistics, or computational linguistics, contributing to both theoretical understanding and practical applications in language education. Postcolonial and world literature professors analyze texts from global perspectives, examining how literature reflects and challenges colonial histories, diaspora experiences, and cross-cultural exchange. Digital humanities is an emerging specialization that applies computational methods to literary analysis, using text mining, network analysis, and data visualization to generate new insights from literary archives.
Pros & Cons
Advantages
- ✓Deep engagement with literature, language, and ideas provides rich intellectual fulfillment for those passionate about the humanities.
- ✓Teaching allows direct impact on students' writing abilities, critical thinking skills, and intellectual development.
- ✓Flexible scheduling and academic calendar provide autonomy and extended periods for focused research and personal projects.
- ✓Tenure, once achieved, offers exceptional job security and freedom to pursue unconventional or provocative scholarly inquiries.
- ✓Creative writing faculty maintain active artistic practices as part of their professional responsibilities, blending vocation and avocation.
- ✓Campus communities offer stimulating intellectual environments with access to cultural events, diverse perspectives, and lifelong learning.
- ✓The median salary of $78,270 combined with benefits, sabbaticals, and tuition waivers creates meaningful total compensation.
Challenges
- ✗The academic job market is extremely competitive, with many doctoral graduates spending years in poorly compensated adjunct positions before finding tenure-track work.
- ✗The tenure process creates six or more years of intense pressure to publish, teach effectively, and serve on committees simultaneously.
- ✗Student essay grading is exceptionally time-consuming, with composition instructors spending 15 to 25 hours per week on feedback alone during peak periods.
- ✗Geographic inflexibility in academic hiring means professors often cannot choose where they live, potentially separating them from family and preferred communities.
- ✗The median salary of $78,270 is modest relative to the doctoral-level education required, particularly compared to professional degrees in law or business.
- ✗Declining humanities enrollments at some institutions create departmental anxiety about budget cuts, course reductions, and position eliminations.
- ✗The solitary nature of literary research and writing can contribute to isolation, particularly for professors at institutions without robust scholarly communities.
Industry Insight
The academic job market for English professors has been challenging for over a decade, with doctoral production exceeding tenure-track openings and many positions converted to contingent or adjunct appointments. Enrollment declines in humanities courses at some institutions are pressuring departments to justify their curricula in terms of career outcomes and transferable skills. However, growing emphasis on writing across the curriculum, professional communication, and digital literacy is creating new instructional needs that English departments are well-positioned to address. Online and hybrid course delivery has expanded, requiring professors to develop multimedia instructional materials and engage students through learning management systems and video platforms. The integration of artificial intelligence writing tools into student practice is compelling English professors to reconsider assessment strategies, plagiarism policies, and the very definition of writing competence. Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are broadening syllabi to include historically marginalized voices and perspectives, reshaping what gets taught and how at the $78,270 median salary level. Public humanities engagement through podcasting, social media scholarship, and community programming is emerging as a valued complement to traditional academic publishing.
How to Break Into This Career
Building a competitive academic profile begins during graduate school with publication in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at scholarly conferences, and development of a distinctive research agenda. Securing teaching experience across multiple course types, from composition to literature surveys to specialized seminars, demonstrates pedagogical versatility that hiring committees value. Pursuing prestigious fellowships, grants, and residencies from organizations like the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright Program, or established writers' colonies enhances visibility and provides dedicated time for research. Developing expertise in digital humanities, rhetoric and composition pedagogy, or other high-demand areas increases marketability in a competitive academic job market. For creative writing positions, publishing in respected literary journals and completing a book manuscript, ideally with a press contract, is often essential for tenure-track consideration. Networking at the Modern Language Association convention, Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference, and regional meetings connects candidates with potential mentors and hiring institutions. Maintaining flexibility about institutional type and geographic location broadens the pool of viable positions, as tenure-track openings in English are concentrated in specific regions and institution categories.
Career Pivot Tips
English professors develop exceptional skills in written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, research methodology, and persuasive argumentation that are highly valued beyond academia. Content strategy and editorial leadership in publishing, media, and technology companies leverage the professor's expertise in language, narrative, and audience engagement. User experience writing and content design roles apply textual analysis and communication skills to crafting digital interfaces, documentation, and product messaging. Corporate communications and public relations leadership positions value the professor's ability to craft compelling narratives, manage tone, and adapt messaging for different audiences. Nonprofit program management and grant writing leverage research skills, project coordination experience, and the ability to articulate organizational impact in compelling written form. Higher education administration, from department chair to provost, applies institutional knowledge and governance experience to academic leadership at broader scales. Policy analysis and advocacy roles in think tanks, foundations, and government agencies benefit from the professor's research training, critical analysis capabilities, and skill in constructing evidence-based arguments.
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