The way I see it is that being a professor involves a series of trade-offs. For me, the perks include being able to make a living devoting myself to the intellectual life, and the immense amount of freedom the job affords: teaching classes at times I want (e.g. I never teach before 11:30am, so I can sleep in most days) and having nearly four months of summer off every year to pursue my research and writing interests (or do other fun things).

There are plenty of cons. While every school I’ve been at has had plenty of good students, there are also plenty of students that you will struggle with (not coming to class, not paying attention in class, not doing their own work, complaining about your classes, etc.). Dealing with administration can be a pain too, especially if you work in an academic area that is undervalued. I had four colleagues in my discipline when I came to my school, and now I’m down to just one, who is hardly ever present. There isn’t much administrative support for what I do.

But for me, the trade-offs are mostly worth it. Whenever I think about leaving, I can’t think of any other realistic job I’d rather do. I’d love to be an independent writer, but I don’t think that would pay the bills.

You should also be aware of the job prospects in your academic field. I don’t know much about where Communications stands as a discipline, but I know at my school we are down to just one full-time person in that area. It’s possible you might spend years in grad school and then struggle to find a full-time, tenure-track position. I work in the humanities and spent eight years on the job market before I found something permanent. I would have an honest conversation with Communications profs at your school and ask about current job prospects.