You generally start as an assistant professor, which means you are on the tenure track but you don't yet have tenure. After several years, if you did well, you get promoted to associate professor, meaning that you got tenure. Finally, after some more years, you turn into a full professor, at which point you will likely earn the most.

All three types are generally referred to as "professor" but they differ in their seniority.

Promotion from associate professor to professor is not automatic; indeed, there are several associate professors in my department who have been at that rank for some time, and seem unlikely to get promoted.

But it is reasonably common, unlike in (say) the UK.

There are multiple 'professor' titles, but only one tenured faculty role. The tenured faculty is the holy grail, and everyone else is underpaid and overworked. [0]

You have instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. There's also such things as visiting professor (temporary postition) or professor emeritus (used to be a professor).

[0]. https://www.bu.edu/handbook/appointments-and-promotions/clas...

Could you clarify what 'one tenured faculty role' means?

The link you gave says "The granting of Tenure, discussed in “Tenure and Promotion on the Charles River Campus”, is a separate guarantee that is not implied by any of the titles discussed in this section."

The tenure document, for example, says that 'The award of tenure to an Assistant Professor shall include promotion to the rank of Associate Professor.' So 'tenured associate professor' is a tenured faculty role, in addition to the 'tenured professor' faculty, such as http://www.bu.edu/wheelock/dr-leslie-dietiker-promoted-to-as... .

I think GP is using "role" to mean the collection of tasks/functions performed by a person rather than their job title. As far as I can tell, duties and incentives don't change as much when going from associate to full professor as when going from assistant to associate.

Thanks. I think I'm getting stuck on "The tenured faculty" rather than simply "tenure".

In many countries a professor is usually extremely distinguished in their field, with perhaps twenty years' research experience, and you will only get a couple of them in each department, with some universities not having any.

I think in the US everyone just automatically gets the title 'professor.'

The same ranks exist in the US:

1. Assistant Professor

2. Associate Professor

3. [Full] Professor

As far as I know, you should only use the title "Prof." to refer to a "full" professor, and "Dr." for assistant and associate professors. In reality, everyone is just referred to as a "professor".

Exactly. Except I thought you should use "Prof" for anybody with Professor in their title.

My University also has a few other titles: Acting Prof, Research Prof, and of course Prof Emeritus

I believe in (some) American universities, any non-grad student who teaches a class is called a professor.

In the summer I had a grad student who was teaching the class as the primary teacher, and he was called "professor" (although I suspect his paycheck was just the standard grad check).

Basically, if you teach even a single class (you have alternative employment, teach at a few different schools, are underemployed, etc.) you are an adjunct professor. And there are a lot of adjuncts.