Beyond paychecks and prestige: unveiling the true drivers of faculty well-being

PurposeWe aim to explore and analyze job stress, satisfaction and career mobility among finance professors in the US. Additionally, we seek to provide insights that could guide new finance PhDs and current academics in understanding how various job aspects impact their professional experiences.Design/methodology/approachUsing manual data identification and applying univariate and multivariate analyses, we survey finance professors in the US to assess their overall job satisfaction, the reasons that drive their choice of first academic positions and the factors influencing their desire to remain in or leave their current roles.FindingsOur findings indicate that pay, location and alignment between research expectations set during the interview process and the actual job conditions are the strongest predictors of professors’ job satisfaction. Family and personal considerations play a more significant role in job search behavior for subsequent employment opportunities. Additionally, we provide evidence that perceived gender-based differential treatment within departments is associated with lower job satisfaction. Furthermore, the academic landscape has shifted following the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting faculty and students.Originality/valueWe identify the key factors influencing job satisfaction, the motivations behind career decisions and the changing job demands faced by finance academics in the US.