How to hire an assistant professor of biology

How to hire an assistant professor of biology, step by step

Here's a step-by-step assistant professor of biology hiring guide:

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

What does an assistant professor of biology do?

Post an assistant professor of biology job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The assistant professor of biology hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect assistant professor of biology also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of assistant professor of biology salaries for various roles:

   Type of Assistant Professor Of Biology	Description	Hourly rate
   Assistant Professor Of Biology	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.	$21-51
   Science Faculty Member	A science faculty member teaches the science subject and facilitates laboratory activities. They can work in elementary schools, high schools, and even colleges and universities... Show more	$18-60
   Biology Faculty Member	A biology faculty member specializes in teaching biological science to students. Their responsibilities revolve around delivering effective classroom discussions, preparing lesson and coursework plans, creating learning materials such as presentations and handouts, conducting tests and examinations, organizing laboratory activities and practices, and assisting students in areas they find difficult... Show more	$19-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Research Program
   • Anatomy
   • Ecology
   • General Biology
   • Undergraduate Research
   • Biology Courses
   • Introductory Biology
   • Immunology
   • Mathematics
   • Graduate Courses
   • Research Projects
   • NIH
   • Genome
   • Cellular Biology

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage externally fund genome sequencing projects as a principal investigator.
   • Conduct research with students into plant population genetics.
   • Experiment with different surface chemistry to improve quality of yields -participate in poster session and presentation to faculty and graduate students.
   • Create many Mathematica movies to help students understand important concepts in calculus.

   More assistant professor of biology duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your assistant professor of biology job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An assistant professor of biology salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an assistant professor of biology in Hawaii may be lower than in Utah, and an entry-level assistant professor of biology usually earns less than a senior-level assistant professor of biology. Additionally, an assistant professor of biology with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average assistant professor of biology salary

   $69,313yearly

   $33.32 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level assistant professor of biology salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

   Average assistant professor of biology salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$97,542	$47
   2	New York	$95,879	$46
   3	Idaho	$82,781	$40
   4	Massachusetts	$77,857	$37
   5	New Jersey	$74,013	$36
   6	Indiana	$72,029	$35
   7	Illinois	$70,927	$34
   8	Pennsylvania	$69,699	$34
   9	Maryland	$67,963	$33
   10	Minnesota	$67,613	$33
   11	Alabama	$65,213	$31
   12	Iowa	$64,537	$31
   13	Georgia	$62,425	$30
   14	Mississippi	$61,576	$30
   15	Louisiana	$61,237	$29
   16	North Carolina	$58,308	$28
   17	Tennessee	$57,193	$28
   18	Missouri	$54,762	$26
   19	Puerto Rico	$54,524	$26
   20	West Virginia	$48,663	$23

   Average assistant professor of biology salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Our Lady of the Lake University	$112,914	$54.29	3
   2	Harvard University	$107,646	$51.75
   3	Stanford University	$106,063	$50.99	112
   4	California Institute of Technology	$104,003	$50.00
   5	Columbia University in the City of New York	$102,866	$49.45	42
   6	Pace University	$102,843	$49.44	4
   7	Oregon Health & Science University	$101,710	$48.90	81
   8	University of California	$100,384	$48.26	5
   9	University of California-Berkeley	$96,753	$46.52
   10	Emory University	$94,007	$45.20	68
   11	Salk Institute for Biological Studies	$87,699	$42.16
   12	Brandeis University	$87,649	$42.14	1
   13	Claremont McKenna College	$86,354	$41.52
   14	The George Washington University	$85,606	$41.16	1
   15	University of Southern California	$82,048	$39.45	1
   16	Saint Louis University	$82,047	$39.45	9
   17	University of New Orleans	$81,480	$39.17
   18	The University of New Mexico	$81,463	$39.16	72
   19	Saint Xavier University	$80,992	$38.94	3
   20	University of Massachusetts Boston	$80,947	$38.92	36

4. Writing an assistant professor of biology job description

   An assistant professor of biology 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. To help get you started, here's an example of an assistant professor of biology job description:

   Assistant professor of biology job description example

   The professor would be required to teach at least four undergraduate classes per semester selected from, but not limited to: A&P l Lecture and Lab, A&P ll Lecture and Lab, Biology l Lecture and Lab, Biology ll Lecture and Lab, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Microbiology Lecture and Lab. Other classes may be available for additional compensation. In addition, the position requires mentoring the students in doing independent study projects. Current active research program and/or some administrative experience are definite pluses. Rank and salary dependent on qualifications.
   Responsibilities • The instructors of Biology will be responsible for a wide range of activities including but not limited to the following.
   • Teach at least four undergraduate courses/labs per semester including a wide range of courses from required to advanced courses in Biology.
   • Plan for instructional activities to include, but not limited to, lecture, class discussion, demonstration labs, and projects.
   • Understanding and experience in distance learning.
   • Mentor students in doing independent study projects.
   • Provide academic student advisement; participate in student recruitment activities related to programs that require biology.
   • Serve on college committees.
   • Participate in ongoing professional development toward an understanding of advances and developments in biology and related sciences as well as the teaching profession.
   • Contribute to the department's curriculum development efforts. Qualifications • A Doctoral Degree in Biology Required
   • Some experience in teaching at the college level
   • Funded research and experience with grant writing a plus • Strong analytical skills.
   • Requires ability to manage multiple and varied tasks with frequent high levels of urgency or sensitivity.
   • Must be able to work collaboratively and effectively with colleagues in a team environment.
   • Strong interpersonal skills are required, both written and oral, as well as a high level of sophistication and maturity in social and professional settings.
   • Proficiency in Canvas, Microsoft Office including, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right assistant professor of biology for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find assistant professor of biology candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting assistant professors of biology 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 assistant professor of biology

   Once you've decided on a perfect assistant professor of biology candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new assistant professor of biology. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an assistant professor of biology?