How people speak, persuade, and connect is what you teach and study — training students in communication and rhetoric they'll use their whole lives. Where the art of communication is taught.
The role runs on the academic calendar: lecturing, coaching speaking and rhetoric, grading, advising, and research. The teaching is often performance-based and interactive. You teach skills students use the rest of their lives, and research and teaching tend to share your hours.
The field is sometimes underrated, so you may defend its rigor to skeptics. Tenure and publishing pressures apply, the discussion- and performance-based teaching demands real skill, and coaching nervous speakers takes patience. Research universities and teaching colleges differ.
It tends to suit people who are articulate, perceptive, and a natural communicator. If you want a hard-science field or to avoid the spotlight, it may not fit. But if helping students find their voice is your kind of reward, the work tends to be satisfying.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
How people speak, persuade, and connect is what you teach and study — training students in communication and rhetoric they'll use their whole lives. Where the art of communication is taught.
Median pay for a Speech Communication Professor is about $78K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $47K to $160K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Instructing, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and Active Learning.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.1% through 2034, with roughly 29,260 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Speech Teacher, Public Speaking Teacher, and Media Arts Professor.
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