How to become a professor before you turn 40? (Alternatively – How to become a professor?)

Abstract

In Norway, where all associate professors (“førsteamanuensis”) who are qualified as a (full) professor are offered a personal professorship, it is no other than the associate professor him/herself who stands in the way of the Professor title. This article reviews 12 success criteria in order to achieve qualifications as (full) professor: (1) Accept professional challenges, (2) always consider publishing; (3) children should take (a lot of your) time; (4) limit preparations; (5) have fixed supervision time; (6) lecture-less-time = time for research; (7) accept your level of competence; (8) establish an infrastructure for research; (9) leave the demanding honorary posts to (full) professors; (10) stay away from Internet and other time thieves; (11) be persistent; (12) be strategic - not cynical. If you follow these tips the professor title will be yours before age forty.