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

What is an associate instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Rodney Foster

An Associate Instructor assists the faculty profession with classes, lessons, and teaching. As an Associate Instructor, you will need critical-thinking, interpersonal, and communication skills. You will also need to have classroom management skills, professional development, and handle student records.

Associate instructors are required to plan and conduct lab sessions, tutor students who need extra help, assist in establishing review seminars for graduates, and prepare students for GED testing or graduate requirements. They also supervise and direct adjunct instructors while also performing performance evaluations.

As an Associate Instructor, you will monitor and assess student progress, create themed lesson plans, develop and instruct specialized courses, and motivate students. You will need a master's degree in education or the subject you are teaching. The career of an Associate Instructor is expected to grow by 11% over the next ten years, during which the profession will add about 155,000 job opportunities. You can make an average of $25.98 per hour or $54,036 annually.

What general advice would you give to an associate instructor?

Rodney Foster

Instructor - Aviation Maintenance Technology Instructor - Airframe & Powerplant Technology, Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College (OCC) teaches Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) and Avionics. Although the Government has dampened air travel by putting up restrictions to prevent a Covid-19 spread, there is still a certified mechanic/skilled labor shortage. I believe all our students will have permanent jobs within a six-month search. OCC AMT is listed as an essential workforce by the state of California and is back in classes full-time, Face-to-face labs, and online lectures. Our next semester registration maximum filled in two days and still has over 35 additional students per class on the waiting list.

ScoreAssociate InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,999

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 16.50%

Black or African American 6.40%

Hispanic or Latino 9.18%

Unknown 4.81%

White 62.84%

Gender

female 54.56%

male 45.44%

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

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an associate instructor

Explore associate instructor education requirements

Most common associate instructor degrees

Bachelor's

59.1 %

Master's

23.8 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific associate instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Classroom Management	13.63%
Student Performance	11.07%
Professional Development	9.66%
Syllabus	6.45%
Instructional Materials	5.92%

Research associate instructor duties and responsibilities

Lead undergraduate course in entrepreneurship and business case development.
Assist classmates with developing positive study habits and strategies for managing classroom material.
Form course content by outlining class objectives and expectations through syllabus and grading rubric.
Lecture undergraduate courses in mathematics.

Prepare your associate instructor resume

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

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an associate instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable associate instructor resume templates

Build a professional associate instructor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your associate instructor resume.