How to hire an adjunct associate professor

How to hire an adjunct associate professor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step adjunct associate professor hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an adjunct associate professor job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new adjunct associate professor
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an adjunct associate professor, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An adjunct associate professor's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, adjunct associate professors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of adjunct associate professor salaries for various roles:

   Type of Adjunct Associate Professor	Description	Hourly rate
   Adjunct Associate Professor	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$25-114
   Faculty	A faculty member is a professional whose primary responsibility is to provide teaching and research to students in colleges and universities. Faculties must work with colleagues to design a curriculum to keep up with the changes in the discipline... Show more	$20-73
   College Instructor	A certified veterinary technician is in charge of performing laboratory tests, participating in medical procedures, and performing clerical support tasks at veterinary clinics, zoos, and private laboratories. Their responsibilities often include collecting information from pet owners, studying patients' medical histories, gathering and analyzing samples from patients through various laboratory procedures, operating equipment and machines, and monitoring patients' conditions... Show more	$16-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Curriculum Development
   • Instructional Materials
   • Student Learning
   • Syllabus
   • Undergraduate Courses
   • Public Health
   • Graduate Courses
   • Sociology
   • Physiology
   • Course Materials
   • Web Application
   • Literature
   • Mathematics
   • Blackboard

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
   • Commission to teach upper level sociology courses.
   • Instruct and design courses in management, marketing, business law, business ethics, and sales.
   • Conceive and create all PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, handouts, electronic media, and supplemental material for all classes
   • Instruct undergraduate students in introductory criminology and sociology courses.
   • Prepare and maintain course PowerPoint presentations and other educational materials.

   More adjunct associate professor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the adjunct associate professor job description is a good way to get more applicants. An adjunct associate professor salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an adjunct associate professor in South Dakota may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level adjunct associate professor. Additionally, an adjunct associate professor with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average adjunct associate professor salary

   $113,706yearly

   $54.67 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level adjunct associate professor salary

   $54,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average adjunct associate professor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$151,029	$73
   2	District of Columbia	$149,997	$72
   3	California	$139,632	$67
   4	New Jersey	$135,401	$65
   5	Indiana	$128,678	$62
   6	Minnesota	$125,615	$60
   7	Texas	$123,657	$59
   8	Pennsylvania	$108,601	$52
   9	Virginia	$99,704	$48
   10	Illinois	$92,067	$44

   Average adjunct associate professor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	National Medical Association	$190,363	$91.52
   2	New York University	$182,897	$87.93	17
   3	RAND	$181,450	$87.24
   4	UT Health San Antonio	$161,850	$77.81
   5	University of California	$154,559	$74.31	6
   6	Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr.	$153,819	$73.95	92
   7	The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania	$152,895	$73.51
   8	Columbia University in the City of New York	$150,429	$72.32	97
   9	School of the Art Institute of Chicago	$150,054	$72.14
   10	Cornell University	$147,025	$70.69	6
   11	American Society of Hematology	$146,579	$70.47
   12	Temple University	$146,383	$70.38	4
   13	University Of Minnesota Physicians	$138,714	$66.69	17
   14	The Cooper Union	$133,464	$64.17
   15	AAAS	$126,838	$60.98
   16	Rutgers University	$120,036	$57.71	284
   17	American Career College	$117,910	$56.69	3
   18	University of California-Berkeley	$117,303	$56.40
   19	UC Santa Barbara	$113,205	$54.43
   20	University of Indianapolis	$113,172	$54.41	11

4. Writing an adjunct associate professor job description

   An adjunct associate professor job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an adjunct associate professor job description:

   Adjunct associate professor job description example

   To serve as joint PI on Multi-PI NIH grant 2R01 GM107542-05A1 as an adjunct coterminous faculty member. The individual will lead studies of molecular mechanisms of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis and tRNA thiolation in mitochondria. They will draw on extensive academic excellence to underpin and carry out research leadership and management within Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, RBHS-NJMS.
   ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
   
   1. To maintain scholarly activity and keep up to date with developments in the field as necessary to carry out the requirements of the position.
   
   2. Investigate the molecular mechanisms of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis and tRNA thiolation in mitochondria and cytoplasm of yeast and mammalian cells. The candidate is expected to generate and characterize yeast strains blocked at various stages in the mitochondrial Fe-S cluster biosynthetic pathway, Atm1 alleles blocked in mitochondrial export in various ways, and mutants involved in a cytoplasmic sulfur relay for tRNA thiolation. Also, knockdown ABCB7 in HEK293 cells and evaluate the phenotype. Define the generalizability of the mitochondrial-cytoplasmic epistasis model in various cell types.
   
   3. Continue research projects to maintain grant funding to support laboratory functions.
   
   4. Mentor students, postdoctoral fellows and/or technicians undertaking research projects as appropriate and sit on appropriate academic committees.
   
   5. Maintain a high quality records of regular and original research publications as appropriate to the research project.
   
   6. To pursue, develop and lead research, innovation and impact at an appropriately benchmarked level.
   
   7. Participation in Department Seminar series by presenting current data in lecture format.
   
   8. Involvement in the recruitment, management and development of staff and act as a mentor to colleagues.
   
   9. Understands and adheres to Rutgers' compliance standards as they appear in RBHS's Corporate Compliance Policy, Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy.
   
   10. Perform other related duties as assigned.
   
   CORPORATE COMPLIANCE RESPONSIBILITIES
   
   1. Keeps abreast of all pertinent federal, state and Rutgers' regulations, laws and policies as they presently exist and as they change or are modified.
   
   2. Ensures that the staff are trained and evaluated on their knowledge of and adherence to compliance policies and procedures specific to their jobs.
   
   JOB REQUIREMENTS:
   To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed must be representative of the knowledge, skills, minimum education, training, licensure, experience, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find adjunct associate professors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your adjunct associate professor job on Zippia to find and recruit adjunct associate professor candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting adjunct associate professors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new adjunct associate professor

   Once you've selected the best adjunct associate professor candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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