How To Become An Adjunct Psychology Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an adjunct psychology instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an adjunct psychology instructor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.4 an hour? That's $59,064 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAdjunct Psychology InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $59,064

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.20%

Black or African American 7.33%

Hispanic or Latino 10.43%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.80%

Gender

female 71.94%

male 28.06%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an adjunct psychology instructor

Explore adjunct psychology instructor education requirements

Most common adjunct psychology instructor degrees

Bachelor's

46.6 %

Master's

40.8 %

Doctorate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific adjunct psychology instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	16.17%
Sociology	11.73%
Syllabus	9.62%
Instructional Materials	8.58%
Research Methods	4.18%

Complete relevant adjunct psychology instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New adjunct psychology instructors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an adjunct psychology instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real adjunct psychology instructor resumes.

Research adjunct psychology instructor duties and responsibilities

Own and manage a small business as a CPR and first aid instructor and consultant for diverse clients.
Utilize PowerPoint for each lecture.
Provide each student with clear course expectations, evaluations and timeliness through carefully written topical outlines and approve, standardize syllabus.
Cover the fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology including cell biology, metabolism, microbiology, genetics, evolution and histology.

Prepare your adjunct psychology instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your adjunct psychology instructor resume.

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