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What does an adjunct faculty member do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Rebecca Sarver

An adjunct faculty member teaches part-time at learning institutions, usually on a contractual basis. Although their duties depend on their position or area of expertise, it usually includes preparing lessons and coursework plans, administering examinations, producing learning materials, grading tests and quizzes, and assisting students as necessary. They also organize various activities meant to enhance the students' skills and abilities. Moreover, they may participate in different committees and work together with fellow educators in maintaining an effective and safe learning environment for everyone.

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Adjunct faculty member responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real adjunct faculty member resumes:

  • Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
  • Prepare course materials such as PowerPoint presentations, assessments and homework assignments.
  • Perform PowerPoint guide lectures and presentation during each meeting.
  • Analyze writings to initiate thematic, multicultural comprehension/interpretation of literature
  • Provide instruction integrating mathematics and manufacturing

Adjunct faculty member skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Adjunct Faculty Members are proficient in Syllabus, Curriculum Development, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Organizational skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Adjunct Faculty Members that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Syllabus, 14%

    Designed and developed course syllabus, assignments and examinations for economics curriculum.

  • Curriculum Development, 9%

    Created course sllaybus's and created on-ground course curriculum development.

  • PowerPoint, 7%

    Prepared course materials such as PowerPoint presentations, assessments and homework assignments.

  • English Language, 6%

    Fall 2007: I taught American English Language III.

  • Anatomy, 5%

    Provided comprehensive lectures in Anatomy and Physiology and Biological Chemistry

  • Student Learning, 5%

    Fostered a classroom environment focused on student success, student learning and promoting excellent student/teacher interactions.

Common skills that an adjunct faculty member uses to do their job include "syllabus," "curriculum development," and "powerpoint." You can find details on the most important adjunct faculty member responsibilities below.

Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for adjunct faculty members to perform their duties. For an example of how adjunct faculty member responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an adjunct faculty member: "teach lecture and internet human development courses on interpersonal relations and aging and end of life issues. ".

Speaking skills. For certain adjunct faculty member responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of an adjunct faculty member rely on this skill, as "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what adjunct faculty members do: "presented students with professional development opportunities. "

Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in adjunct faculty member job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what adjunct faculty members do. Adjunct faculty member responsibilities rely on this skill because "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." You can also see how adjunct faculty member duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "developed syllabus, learning objectives, tests, evaluations and writing assignments to evaluate competencies and outcome assessments. "

All adjunct faculty member skills

The three companies that hire the most adjunct faculty members are:

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Compare different adjunct faculty members

Adjunct faculty member vs. Professor

A professor is a teaching professional who provides instructions to students on various academic and vocational subjects in colleges, universities, and vocational schools. Professors design curriculums for courses and ensure that they meet college and department students. They continuously conduct research and experiments so that advanced knowledge in their field is completed. They share their research and works by publishing them in books and academic journals. They also provide assistance to graduating students.

We looked at the average adjunct faculty member salary and compared it with the wages of a professor. Generally speaking, professors are paid $96,753 higher than adjunct faculty members per year.Even though adjunct faculty members and professors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require syllabus, curriculum development, and powerpoint in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between adjunct faculty members and professor. For instance, adjunct faculty member responsibilities require skills such as "english language," "student learning," "student performance," and "learning environment." Whereas a professor is skilled in "c++," "graduate courses," "research projects," and "pharmacology." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Professors really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $148,195. Comparatively, adjunct faculty members tend to make the most money in the start-up industry with an average salary of $66,491.The education levels that professors earn slightly differ from adjunct faculty members. In particular, professors are 8.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an adjunct faculty member. Additionally, they're 5.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Adjunct faculty member vs. 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. Moreover, under the supervision of a veterinarian, they may also provide first-aid to animals and administer medication.

On average, college instructors earn a $10,233 lower salary than adjunct faculty members a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both adjunct faculty members and college instructors have skills such as "syllabus," "curriculum development," and "powerpoint. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, adjunct faculty member responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "english language," "mentoring students," "abnormal psychology," and "business administration." Meanwhile, a college instructor has duties that require skills in areas such as "classroom management," "social work," "math," and "money management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

College instructors may earn a lower salary than adjunct faculty members, but college instructors earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $50,236. On the other hand, adjunct faculty members receive higher pay in the start-up industry, where they earn an average salary of $66,491.Average education levels between the two professions vary. College instructors tend to reach similar levels of education than adjunct faculty members. In fact, they're 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for adjunct faculty members in the next 3-5 years?

Rebecca SarverRebecca Sarver LinkedIn profile

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

The use of remote and virtual meetings will continue even after COVID-19. Face to face meetings may still be the preferred method of contact, but the reality is that many clients who need to access services do not have reliable and consistent transportation to get to the services. Phones and computers enable more convenient meetings that are less costly in terms of time and travel. Some clients may prefer not to leave their homes.

Adjunct faculty member vs. Medical assisting instructor

A medical assisting instructor is a post-secondary teacher who covers medical subjects with students. They are tasked with teaching classes for medical assisting programs, preparing lesson plans, teaching classes, assessing the performance of students, conducting research, and logging grades.

On average scale, medical assisting instructors bring in lower salaries than adjunct faculty members. In fact, they earn a $5,438 lower salary per year.By looking over several adjunct faculty members and medical assisting instructors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "syllabus," "curriculum development," and "powerpoint." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, adjunct faculty members are more likely to have skills like "english language," "learning environment," "sociology," and "undergraduate courses." But a medical assisting instructor is more likely to have skills like "rma," "cpr," "phlebotomy," and "medical terminology."

Medical assisting instructors earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $61,745. Adjunct faculty members earn the highest pay from the start-up industry, with an average salary of $66,491.medical assisting instructors typically earn lower educational levels compared to adjunct faculty members. Specifically, they're 25.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 6.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Adjunct faculty member vs. Dental assisting instructor

A Dental Assisting Instructor helps the program director in creating coursework for students. They provide classroom and laboratory instructions as well as create reports and maintain records, such as student grades, attendance rolls, and training activity details.

Dental assisting instructors average a lower salary than the annual salary of adjunct faculty members. The difference is about $12,549 per year.While both adjunct faculty members and dental assisting instructors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like syllabus, curriculum development, and powerpoint, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between adjunct faculty members and dental assisting instructors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an adjunct faculty member might have more use for skills like "english language," "anatomy," "mentoring students," and "learning environment." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of dental assisting instructors require skills like "cpr," "rda," "danb," and "classroom management. "

Dental assisting instructors enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $49,288. For comparison, adjunct faculty members earn the highest salary in the start-up industry.The average resume of dental assisting instructors showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to adjunct faculty members. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 28.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 4.2%.

Types of adjunct faculty member

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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