Overall, it's extremely difficult to become a professor. Nowadays, there are many more qualified applicants than there are full-time, college-level teaching positions, making tenure-track jobs in particular highly competitive. ... Teaching experience. Professional certification (depending on your field) Professors are by no means poorly paid, and they typically earn enough to live comfortably and to raise a family. However, someone with the level of skill and experience that a professor has could almost certainly earn much more money in the private sector. According to the BLS, career opportunities for postsecondary history teachers are expected to increase by 6% from 2018 to 2028, which is slightly higher than the average for all careers in the nation. In May of 2018, the BLS also reported that postsecondary history professors earned a median salary of $74,590 per year.