Academic salaries can vary widely depending on rank, country, and institution. Here’s what professors make in Europe and North America. All salaries are reported in the local currency and are pre tax.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the average salary for professors was £79,030 in 2015-2016 according to Times Higher Education. Other senior academic staff made £82,506 on average while other academics (lecturers, senior lecturers and researchers) made an average of £43,607.

Germany

German professors are civil servants so national legislation fixes their salaries according to state. Junior professors (Juniordozent) make €49,548 to €57,373. Associate professors (dozent) make €60,154 to €72,246, and full professors (Professur) make €68,972 to €82,013.

Sweden

SACO, the Swedish Academics Central Organization (Sveriges akademikers centralorganisation), lists the median salary in 2016 for a lecturer (adjunkt) as 36,900 SEK per month. Assistant professors (biträdande lector) make a median of 40,000 SEK per month. An associate professor (lektor) earns a median of 44,500 SEK per month, while a professor makes a median of 60,800 SEK per month. Taxes in Sweden are approximately 45%.

Switzerland

Swiss academic are the highest in Europe. They are by each canton (province) and by law. At the Université de Lausanne, associate professor salaries range from 125,250 to 158,783 CHF per year. Full professors make 149,728 to 171,380 CHF per year. Full Professors with chair appointment make 163,564 to 210,793 CHF annually. At ETH Zurich, the range for assistant professors is 148,682 to 214,767 CHF per year and is 178,996 to 245,080 CFH per year for associate professors. Full professors make 209,247 to 275,359 CHF annually.

Denmark

In Denmark, faculty salaries are determined by contracts negotiated between academic unions and the government. An academic’s salary is determined by a combination of seniority (years since the completion of PhD) and job rank. Assistant professors earn an average of 38,344 DKR per month. Associate professors earn 44,4204 DKR per month on average, while professors earn an average of 58,236 DKR per month. Taxes in Denmark are relatively high at 40-50% depending on income.

The Netherlands

Similar to Denmark, the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) provides the pay scale for faculty salaries. Assistant professors (universitaire docent) earn €3,475 to €5,405 per month. Associate professors (universitair hoofddocent) earn €4,815 to €7,072 per month. Full professors (Hoogleraar) earn from €5,334 to €9,375 per month. Taxes in the Netherlands are around 40%.

France 

Since French universities are public and state run, academics who hold permanent positions are civil servants. The government sets their salaries, which do not vary from institution and discipline. The salary levels are broken down by class and seniority. The salary for a tenured assistant/associate professor (maître de conférence) can range from €25,225 to €53,828 per year depending on the class and seniority of the academic. Tenured full Professors (professeur des universités) can expect to make between €36,560 and €73,343 a year according to their class and seniority.

Belgium

Belgian academic salaries are based on seniority (time from completion of PhD). Entry-level assistant professors make €29,914 per year, while those with 24 years of experience top the pay scale at €47,443 per year. Associate professors start at €34,255 per year can earn €58,402 per year with 24 years of experience. Professors start at €40,109 per year and after 18 years earn €61,224 per year. Full professors start at €44,924 and make €68,633 after 15 years. Belgium has a relatively high tax rate of 45-52%

Norway

Norwegian academic salaries are determined according to collective agreements between unions and state authorities. Within the salary scale, academic rank and seniority determines compensation. The median salary for lecturers is 39,058 NOK per month, and 41,358 NOK per month for senior lecturers. An associate professor earns a median of 40,592 NOK monthly and the median monthly salary for a professor is 50,858 NOK. Taxes in Norway are around 40%

Finland

Academic salaries in Finland are set under a collective agreement. An academic’s place on the salary scale is determined by two things: the job requirements and their individual performance. An assistant/associate professor makes €3,340 to €5,634 per month, while a professor makes between €4,656 and €8,682 per month (the median monthly professor salary was €6,730 in 2015.) Taxes in Finland are 25-32%.

United States

The American Association of University Professors tracks academic salaries in the United States. Based on their 2016/2017 report, the average salary for a full professor is $102,402 USD. Associate professors earn an average of $79,654 and assistant professors average $69,206. The Chronicle of Higher Education also has a database of individual faculty salaries for more than 4,700 institutions based on information collected by the U.S. Education Department.

Canada

According to a recent survey by Statistics Canada, the median salary for full-time academic teaching staff in Canada is $98,400 for the 2016/2017 academic year. Full professors are the highest earners with median salaries of $124,325, while associate professors make a median of $97,423. The median salary for assistant professors is $77,269 and $71,060 for staff with a rank below assistant professor.

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