diff --git a/base/timing.jl b/base/timing.jl
index 45a27e3378977..2132657c864c7 100644
--- a/base/timing.jl
+++ b/base/timing.jl
@@ -59,6 +59,34 @@ end
 cumulative_compile_time_ns_before() = ccall(:jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_before, UInt64, ())
 cumulative_compile_time_ns_after() = ccall(:jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_after, UInt64, ())
 
+"""
+    Base.track_compile_time_permanently()
+
+Permanently enable tracking of time spent in compilation by Julia.
+
+Julia has the ability to measure the amount of time spent during compilation (including
+type-inference, optimization, llvm optimizaiton, codegen, etc). However, on some systems
+(FreeBSD-based systems are the known problems), this measurment can be too expensive, so
+it is not enabled by default.
+
+Calling this function will globally enable tracking the cumulative compilation time.
+
+You can fetch the current total cumulative time spent in compilation by calling:
+- [`Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()`](@ref)
+"""
+track_compile_time_permanently() = ccall(:jl_track_compile_time_permanently, UInt64, ())
+"""
+    Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+
+The current total cumulative time Julia has spent in compilation, in nanoseconds.
+
+To enable this global measurement, you must call
+[`Base.track_compile_time_permanently()`](@ref) after starting this julia process.
+Otherwise, this function will only return the total time spent in compilation during calls
+to [`Base.@time`](@ref).
+"""
+cumulative_compile_time_ns_total() = ccall(:jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_total, UInt64, ())
+
 # total time spend in garbage collection, in nanoseconds
 gc_time_ns() = ccall(:jl_gc_total_hrtime, UInt64, ())
 
diff --git a/src/jitlayers.cpp b/src/jitlayers.cpp
index 60b1903aaa802..5e28ef204c7e1 100644
--- a/src/jitlayers.cpp
+++ b/src/jitlayers.cpp
@@ -74,20 +74,45 @@ void jl_jit_globals(std::map<void *, GlobalVariable*> &globals)
 }
 
 extern "C" JL_DLLEXPORT
-uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_before()
+void jl_track_compile_time_permanently()
 {
-    // Increment the flag to allow reentrant callers to `@time`.
+    jl_always_measure_compile_time = 1;
     jl_atomic_fetch_add(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, 1);
+}
+
+extern "C" JL_DLLEXPORT
+uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_before()
+{
+    if (!jl_always_measure_compile_time) {
+        // Increment the flag to allow reentrant callers to `@time`.
+        jl_atomic_fetch_add(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, 1);
+    }
     return jl_atomic_load_relaxed(&jl_cumulative_compile_time);
 }
+
 extern "C" JL_DLLEXPORT
 uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_after()
 {
-    // Decrement the flag when done measuring, allowing other callers to continue measuring.
-    jl_atomic_fetch_add(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, -1);
+    if (!jl_always_measure_compile_time) {
+        // Decrement the flag when done measuring, allowing other callers to continue measuring.
+        jl_atomic_fetch_add(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, -1);
+    }
     return jl_atomic_load_relaxed(&jl_cumulative_compile_time);
 }
 
+extern "C" JL_DLLEXPORT
+uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+{
+    return jl_atomic_load_relaxed(&jl_cumulative_compile_time);
+}
+
+extern "C" JL_DLLEXPORT
+uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time_ns_for_current_thread()
+{
+    return jl_cumulative_compile_time_per_thread[jl_threadid()];
+}
+
+
 // this generates llvm code for the lambda info
 // and adds the result to the jitlayers
 // (and the shadow module),
diff --git a/src/julia_internal.h b/src/julia_internal.h
index a7943e11a8067..99c25824c8885 100644
--- a/src/julia_internal.h
+++ b/src/julia_internal.h
@@ -154,9 +154,11 @@ static inline uint64_t cycleclock(void)
 
 #include "timing.h"
 
-// Global *atomic* integers controlling *process-wide* measurement of compilation time.
-extern uint8_t jl_measure_compile_time_enabled;
-extern uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time;
+// Global variables controlling *process-wide* measurement of compilation time.
+extern uint8_t jl_always_measure_compile_time;
+extern uint8_t jl_measure_compile_time_enabled; // *atomic*
+extern uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time;     // *atomic*
+extern uint64_t *jl_cumulative_compile_time_per_thread;
 
 #ifdef _COMPILER_MICROSOFT_
 #  define jl_return_address() ((uintptr_t)_ReturnAddress())
diff --git a/src/task.c b/src/task.c
index 88d4eac0863c9..ba39ce69b4b13 100644
--- a/src/task.c
+++ b/src/task.c
@@ -562,10 +562,14 @@ static void JL_NORETURN throw_internal(jl_task_t *ct, jl_value_t *exception JL_M
     ptls->io_wait = 0;
     // @time needs its compile timer disabled on error,
     // and cannot use a try-finally as it would break scope for assignments
-    // We blindly disable compilation time tracking here, for all running Tasks, even though
-    // it may cause some incorrect measurements. This is a known bug, and is being tracked
-    // here: https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/pull/39138
-    jl_atomic_store_relaxed(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, 0);
+    // Though if the user has requested to _always_ measure compile time, we don't need to
+    // enable or disable it.
+    if (!jl_always_measure_compile_time) {
+        // We blindly disable compilation time tracking here, for all running Tasks, even
+        // though it may cause some incorrect measurements. This is a known bug, and is
+        // being tracked here: https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/pull/39138
+        jl_atomic_store_relaxed(&jl_measure_compile_time_enabled, 0);
+    }
     JL_GC_PUSH1(&exception);
     jl_gc_unsafe_enter(ptls);
     if (exception) {
diff --git a/src/threading.c b/src/threading.c
index ffe53c07b45ee..0f663e14a0386 100644
--- a/src/threading.c
+++ b/src/threading.c
@@ -287,8 +287,10 @@ void jl_pgcstack_getkey(jl_get_pgcstack_func **f, jl_pgcstack_key_t *k)
 #endif
 
 jl_ptls_t *jl_all_tls_states JL_GLOBALLY_ROOTED;
+uint8_t jl_always_measure_compile_time = 0;
 uint8_t jl_measure_compile_time_enabled = 0;
 uint64_t jl_cumulative_compile_time = 0;
+uint64_t *jl_cumulative_compile_time_per_thread = NULL;
 
 // return calling thread's ID
 // Also update the suspended_threads list in signals-mach when changing the
@@ -467,6 +469,7 @@ void jl_init_threading(void)
     }
     if (jl_n_threads <= 0)
         jl_n_threads = 1;
+    jl_cumulative_compile_time_per_thread = (uint64_t*)calloc(jl_n_threads, sizeof(*jl_cumulative_compile_time_per_thread));
 #ifndef __clang_analyzer__
     jl_all_tls_states = (jl_ptls_t*)calloc(jl_n_threads, sizeof(void*));
 #endif
diff --git a/test/misc.jl b/test/misc.jl
index 94c35c43ffaec..b8ba13001c0a2 100644
--- a/test/misc.jl
+++ b/test/misc.jl
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ end
 @test timev_macro_scope() == 1
 
 before = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_before();
+@test Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total() >= before;
 
 # exercise concurrent calls to `@time` for reentrant compilation time measurement.
 t1 = @async @time begin
@@ -279,6 +280,28 @@ end
 after = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_after();
 @test after >= before;
 
+@test Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total() >= after;
+
+@testset "cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()" begin
+    # Global compilation tracking is disabled, so total time doesn't increment
+    ct1 = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+    @eval module M ; f(x,y) = x+y ; end
+    @eval M.f(2,3)
+    ct2 = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+    @test ct2 == ct1
+
+    # !!! Note that this cannot be undone !!!
+    Base.track_compile_time_permanently()
+
+    # With global compilation tracking *enabled*, total time does increment
+    ct1 = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+    @eval module M ; f(x,y) = x+y ; end
+    @eval M.f(2,3)
+    ct2 = Base.cumulative_compile_time_ns_total()
+    @test ct2 > ct1
+end
+
+
 # interactive utilities
 
 struct ambigconvert; end # inject a problematic `convert` method to ensure it still works