Professor Salary in Scotland
Official ONS earnings for Scotland, covering 25,000 jobs.
Median salary — Scotland
£48,035
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 10.1% change on the previous year
Mean
£49,502
Jobs measured
25,000
What a typical professor takes home
On the median of £48,035, 2026/27 tax year, Scottish rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£3,087
Take-home a year
£37,041
Income Tax
£8,157
National Insurance
£2,837
What most professors actually earn
Half of professors in Scotland earn between £34,028 and £51,647. Earning above £51,647 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Teaching Professionals” group in Scotland.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of professors earn less than this.
How Scotland ranks for professor pay
4th
of 4 GB regions with a published figure
Scotland is the lowest-paying of the 4 regions ONS measures for this role, £2,018 behind North West on £50,053.
Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Higher education teaching professionals
- SOC 2020 code
- 2311
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “professor” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Higher education teaching professionals”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures all higher education teaching professionals together, so a professor sits in the same figure as an early-career lecturer.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Professor salary FAQs
What is the average Professor salary in Scotland?
The median is £48,035 a year and the mean is £49,502, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a professor earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £28.94 excluding overtime, or £29.71 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for Scotland.
What is a good Professor salary?
Half of professors earn between £34,028 and £51,647. Anything above £51,647 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a professor?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of professors earn under £18,968 and the lowest quarter under £34,028 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid professors earn?
The top 10% of professors earn more than £62,265 a year, and the top quarter more than £51,647. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Do professors in Scotland earn more than the UK average?
The median in Scotland is £48,035 against £46,494 across the UK, 3.3% higher, which places it lowest of the 4 GB regions with a precise estimate.
Has professor pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +10.1% for this occupation in Scotland. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many professors are there in Scotland?
ASHE counts around 25,000 employee jobs in “Higher education teaching professionals” (SOC 2311) in Scotland. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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