Overall, faculty tend to be more satisfied than dissatisfied with their job at Purdue. A slight majority would choose to work at Purdue again without some second thoughts if they had it to decide over again and on a six-point scale with a midpoint of 3.5, the average response regarding overall satisfaction was 4.3.

Faculty are initially drawn to Purdue primarily because of the:

1) Unit’s, school’s, or institution’s prestige
2) Benefits
3) Balance between research and teaching responsibilities
4) Access to research facilities

These factors also rank the highest in terms of current satisfaction. Conversely, faculty are least likely to report that they initially came to Purdue because of its geographic location or the opportunities that were available for their spouse or partner. These factors also received relatively low marks in terms of current satisfaction.

The four most commonly cited reasons for which faculty would be motivated to leave Purdue include the desire to:

1) Earn a higher salary
2) Join a unit where they would be more appreciated
3) Live in a different part of the country
4) Enhance their spouse or partner’s career opportunities

Assistant professors, females, underrepresented minorities, and singles are the most likely to be motivated to move for personal reasons. These reasons include the desire to live closer to family or friends, to have wider social contacts, and to achieve a better balance between one’s work and personal life.

By school, faculty in Consumer and Family Sciences, Health Sciences, and Technology reported the most positive responses to many of these questions, while faculty from Education and Science were often the most dissatisfied with their circumstances at Purdue. 

Associate professors tend to be less satisfied overall than their colleagues in other ranks, especially compared to full professors who report the highest levels of satisfaction. On several questions, females reported less satisfaction than males, while Caucasians tend to be more satisfied than either underrepresented minorities or Asian Americans.