Overview
Professors and academic researchers teach undergraduate and postgraduate students, supervise research scholars, and produce original research. The Indian higher education ecosystem (1,100+ universities, 45,000+ colleges) employs ~14 lakh teachers, with sustained demand at IITs, IIMs, IIT-equivalent institutes (IISc, IISER, BITS, NITs, IIITs), private deemed universities (Ashoka, OP Jindal, Shiv Nadar, Krea, Symbiosis, Manipal, Amity), and the state university system. NEP 2020 expansion targets and the rise of research-focused private universities have driven sharp growth in faculty hiring.
Day-to-day responsibilities
Teach assigned undergraduate and postgraduate courses; design curriculum and assessments; supervise PhD scholars and Master's thesis students; conduct original research and publish in peer-reviewed journals; write grant proposals (DST, DBT, SERB, ICSSR, ICMR, UGC); attend international conferences; review papers for journals; participate in administrative committees; engage in industry collaboration and consulting.
Skills required
- Domain depth in chosen field
- Research methodology and publication writing
- Teaching and pedagogy
- PhD scholar mentorship
- Grant writing and project management
- Statistical and analytical tools (R, SPSS, Python, MATLAB, qualitative software)
- Academic English (for publications)
- Public speaking (lectures, conferences)
Education path
PhD in chosen discipline from a recognised university is the standard credential. UGC NET (or CSIR NET for science) for Assistant Professor eligibility (PhD qualifies for exemption). M.Phil legacy in some humanities. Postdoctoral experience at top global universities heavily weighted at top Indian institutes. For IITs and IISc: PhD from IIT, IISc, or international R1 institute is typical baseline.
Career progression
- 1Assistant Professor (0-6 yrs)
- 2Associate Professor (6-12 yrs)
- 3Professor (12-20 yrs)
- 4Senior Professor / Distinguished Professor (20+ yrs)
- 5Director / Vice-Chancellor (selection)
Top employers in India
Useful certifications
- PhD in domain
- UGC NET / CSIR NET / GATE
- Postdoctoral fellowships (international)
- INSPIRE Faculty Award (DST)
- Ramanujan / Ramalingaswami Fellowships