Least stressful job of 2013...Part III

So what does this mean; the CareerCast rankings and Part I and Part II of my conversation? Of the eleven job demands that Careercast uses to rate the most stressful jobs, five do not apply to university professor: physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, own life at risk, and life of another at risk. Of the remaining job demands the most stressful by far is competitiveness followed by deadlines, working in the public eye, and meeting the public.

When discussing stress, many university professors will often say the following: four years for undergrad, two years for a masters, three to five years for a doctorate, and possible post-doc appointments before they even get their first legit job. I am sorry to say but the average person does not care or understand how many years of education has been accumulated although they will be impressed when it is brought up. Attaining a basket of degrees is an intensely personal journey that is a job requirement for university professors but it is not a stress factor when factored into a full time, tenured position.

Now the comparisons; is the job of university professor as stressful as being:
- An enlisted military personnel?
- A firefighter?
- A cop?
- A corporate executive?
- An airline pilot?
- A medical doctor?
- A surgeon?
- A nurse?
- An oil rig worker?
- A correctional officer?
- A paramedic?
- CPS worker?
- A home health care provider?

No.  

Being a university professor is stressful but for different reasons than the stresses associated with the above jobs. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might kill someone or greatly endanger people. University professors do not have to worry that mistakes made on the job might cost the university millions of dollars. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might lead to disaster.

The stress of maintaining an academic profile that is competitive on the national and international international market is stressful beyond reproach. Example, in Arizona, does a lawyer or doctor have to be one of the three best in the entire state just to get a job? No; there are thousands of lawyers and doctors in Arizona but there are only three professors of bassoon in Arizona. If you do not get a job in Arizona you have to move onto a different state.

This leads to self-doubt and a mindset that nothing is ever good enough, “my writing is never good enough, my CV is lacking, I need to publish more, I need to finish my book (or second or third), my degrees are not from good enough schools.” And the list goes on and on.

But with these stresses, university professors have great freedoms; besides academic freedom university professors have the freedom to create and be inquisitive their entire lives. Being able to use words to create ideas that can inform and influence students and others is a gift. Being able to be inquisitive, stay inquisitive no matter what happens, to use your inquisitive nature to fix problems, and to be inquisitive throughout your life; this is freedom incarnate.