“They tell you that tenure is security, right? But I was paid $59,000 to start as a professor, and that was less than I had made in my first real job 10 years prior.”

In this episode of Academics and Their Money, we sit down with Dr. Jayne Lammers, a former tenured professor turned corporate learning designer and independent dissertation coach, to explore the financial realities of an academic career.

Jayne shares her journey from surviving on an academic salary and navigating six figures of student debt to discovering greater financial freedom through industry, entrepreneurship, and a willingness to rethink what success looks like. We discuss the financial tradeoffs of pursuing a PhD, the often overlooked opportunity cost of extending your dissertation, and the very different financial realities of working in academia, corporate America, and for yourself.

Whether you’re considering graduate school, questioning your academic career path, or wondering what financial freedom could look like beyond the tenure track, this conversation offers an honest look at the choices, sacrifices, and opportunities that shape an academic’s financial life.

About Dr. Jayne C. Lammers

Dr. Jayne C. Lammers is a dissertation coach who helps doctoral students finish using judgment free accountability, with one on one coaching, in small groups, and through faculty professional development. A former tenured professor at the University of Rochester, a Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia, and a corporate learning leader, she also teaches in the Mid Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.

Learn more about Jayne here:

Website: agooddissertation.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jayneclammers