Professor? sure it is a great life; however, you didn't mention the 6-7 years getting a masters and Ph.D. after your 4 years getting your B.S. degree. I was in school for 10.5 years after HS before I got my first "real job". If you go to a research intensive university you will be on the publish-or-perish treadmill and likely working 70-80 hours a week just to make sure you keep your job. Depending on the discipline, you will be likely be making about $60-70K per year to start (yes, some disciplines are better, but the average is about $60-70K). Highly established after 20 years and willing to go into administration, you will get up into the $110-150K range but then you are dealing with the hassles of managing people and that can be a major pain in the fanny. Once you have been in the faculty ranks for ~10-12 years it is a great job; however, getting the Ph.D. and those first few years is not an easy path.
Bottom line is to find something that you are passionate about. I've been a university researcher/professor for 25 years, have traveled all over the world on someone else's dime, make $87K/years, and feel like I get to play for a living. Wouldn't trade it for anything.