I disagree. It's an outlet, like bowling for some.
And I am WAY above a "professor," as you put it, when measured by success and providing jobs and earning a living. For what's it's worth, I believe about 30% of teachers are just destined to teach, because that is their calling. The other 70% "teach" because they cannot "do."
I have the degrees, but when they are in most areas, a PhD translates to "piled higher and deeper," and that is a fact for everyone but liberals, who worship the almighty "degree." What a joke a liberal is.