Job prospects Natural Sciences Professor - University in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "natural sciences professor - university" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Moderate for university professors and lecturers (NOC 41200) in Alberta for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Demand for this occupation is influenced by population growth, student enrollment, provincial government funding, and revenue from international student fees. Federal government reduction in immigration targets may impact population growth and student enrollment.
• Changes to federal study permit targets may also reduce the number of available teaching positions and intensify competition for academic roles.  

Here are some key facts about university professors and lecturers in Alberta:

• Approximately 8,450 people work in this occupation.
• University professors and lecturers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Universities (NAICS 6113): more than 95%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 89% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 11% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 77% of university professors and lecturers work all year, while 23% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 53% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 47% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 6% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 94% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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