[WS:] No doubt, and this is the main advantage, at least from my perspective.
But there are also many less desirable aspects vis a vis an average job requiring a comparable skill/education level - for example:
1. nepotism in faculty appointments - probably more than an average job 2. feudal hierarchies, between especially graduate students/junior faculty and senior faculty 3. commercialization - most faculty are now expected to generate outside funding to support their positions - this is different from ordinary salesmanship in that salespeople are hired exclusively to make sales whereas professors are supposed to do research and educate 4. pretentiousness and pompous bullshit - probably more than an average job 5. lack of clearly defined performance criteria - it is basically a beauty contest, probably more so than an average job 6. poor prospects of finding an alternative job - especially in comparison to government employees 7. relative low pay comparing to other jobs with similar education/skill requirements (e.g. a K12 teacher with enough seniority can make more than a college prof) 8. politicization
-- Wojtek
"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."