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Adjunct faculty vs high school teacher

The differences between adjunct faculties and high school teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an adjunct faculty, becoming a high school teacher takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an adjunct faculty has an average salary of $83,069, which is higher than the $52,441 average annual salary of a high school teacher.

The top three skills for an adjunct faculty include student learning, syllabus and philosophy. The most important skills for a high school teacher are classroom management, professional development, and culinary.

Adjunct faculty vs high school teacher overview

Adjunct FacultyHigh School Teacher
Yearly salary$83,069$52,441
Hourly rate$39.94$25.21
Growth rate2%5%
Number of jobs26,79183,554
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4643
Years of experience42

What does an adjunct faculty do?

Adjunct faculty is the collective term for adjunct professors or lecturers. The adjunct faculty teaches students based on the limited-term of their contract. Oftentimes, they teach preparatory or introductory courses by semester arrangement for the entire academic year. Most of them are employed in higher education. Unlike regular professors, adjunct faculty do not have benefits and are not required to be present in meetings. They can work as either a contract professor or a part-time professor.

What does a high school teacher do?

High school teachers play an essential role in preparing students for college or life following graduation. They typically teach students from the ninth to 12th grades. They plan and develop lessons, evaluate their students' strengths, weaknesses and abilities, and grade their exams and assignments. Other duties include working with individual students to challenge and improve their abilities, developing and implementing classroom rules, and overseeing students outside the classroom. Some of them also take on additional tasks, such as advising academic clubs or coaching sports teams.

Adjunct faculty vs high school teacher salary

Adjunct faculties and high school teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Adjunct FacultyHigh School Teacher
Average salary$83,069$52,441
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $152,000Between $37,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyHca Hospital Services Of San DiegoBoston Public Schools
Best paying industryGovernmentProfessional

Differences between adjunct faculty and high school teacher education

There are a few differences between an adjunct faculty and a high school teacher in terms of educational background:

Adjunct FacultyHigh School Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorNursingEducation
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaHarvard University

Adjunct faculty vs high school teacher demographics

Here are the differences between adjunct faculties' and high school teachers' demographics:

Adjunct FacultyHigh School Teacher
Average age4643
Gender ratioMale, 40.9% Female, 59.1%Male, 46.5% Female, 53.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 11.2% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 3.6% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage16%12%

Differences between adjunct faculty and high school teacher duties and responsibilities

Adjunct faculty example responsibilities.

  • Lead early childhood program initiatives.
  • Provide detail academic instruction for college students in anatomy & physiology, and medical terminology.
  • Prepare lectures, in-class exercises, and collect entirely new course materials to create a personalize syllabus
  • Inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures, attendance and participation requirements in a course syllabus.
  • Facilitate teaching of online humanities course examining relationship between philosophy and ethics including issues relating to morality.
  • Provide instruction in accounting, economics, federal taxation, management, personnel and small business management.
  • Show more

High school teacher example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate training for the after-school soccer league, manage game schedules and transportation for the school team
  • Plan English conversation and writing classes, grade assignments, design and lead an English summer camp course for freshmen.
  • Manage FBLA, assist with meeting notes, financial records, and agendas for meetings, events, and fundraisers.
  • Coordinate and conduct LPAC meetings, ESL testing, and state testing.
  • Create and implement district-wide general math, pre-algebra, and science curriculum.
  • Facilitate and teach online students in California and Colorado: English, history; economics
  • Show more

Adjunct faculty vs high school teacher skills

Common adjunct faculty skills
  • Student Learning, 11%
  • Syllabus, 8%
  • Philosophy, 7%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • Course Syllabus, 5%
  • Course Content, 5%
Common high school teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 12%
  • Professional Development, 7%
  • Culinary, 5%
  • K-12, 5%
  • Curriculum Development, 5%
  • Student Learning, 5%

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