Associate professor vs lecturer

The differences between associate professors and lecturers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate professor has an average salary of $103,292, which is higher than the $61,988 average annual salary of a lecturer.

The top three skills for an associate professor include patients, public health and philosophy. The most important skills for a lecturer are semester, philosophy, and syllabus.

Associate professor vs lecturer overview

	Associate Professor	Lecturer
Yearly salary	$103,292	$61,988
Hourly rate	$49.66	$29.80
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	30,083	26,449
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	-

What does an associate professor do?

An associate professor works as a teacher at higher education institutions like universities and colleges. Normally, associate professors teach classes pertinent to a certain field of their expertise. They teach and speak in seminars, conduct research, supervise students, and attend conferences. Among their other responsibilities are advising teaching assistants, discussing administrative tasks, and collaborating with their colleagues. They are expected to have great knowledge of the subject they are teaching and good communication skills.

What does a lecturer do?

A lecturer, also known as a university lecturer, is a teaching professional who teaches students in colleges and educational establishments. Lecturers provide support to students in their research activities by assessing their work and through a pastoral and advisory role. Aside from teaching students, lecturers may carry out administrative tasks such as student enrolment, induction programmers, and involvement in committees and boards. They may also contribute to professional seminars and seminars about their expertise and participate in the training activities of staff members.

Associate professor vs lecturer salary

Associate professors and lecturers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Professor	Lecturer
Average salary	$103,292	$61,988
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $189,000	Between $37,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Baylor College of Medicine	Johns Hopkins University
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between associate professor and lecturer education

There are a few differences between an associate professor and a lecturer in terms of educational background:

	Associate Professor	Lecturer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Nursing	English
Most common college	University of Texas at Austin	Carnegie Mellon University

Associate professor vs lecturer demographics

Here are the differences between associate professors' and lecturers' demographics:

	Associate Professor	Lecturer
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 17.1% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 17.7% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between associate professor and lecturer duties and responsibilities

Associate professor example responsibilities.

Develop and manage syllabus materials and coordinate curriculum with department chairs.
Design exams relevant to material cover up to exam date.
Train in and design hybrid and online courses in accounting, economics, and finance.
Provide training in basic military tactics, leadership procedures, operations orders, and ethics.
Teach didactic lectures for nurse practitioner graduate students as a part of their pharmacology subject requirement.
Handle the task of conducting regular lectures of anatomy and microbiology experiments in the classroom as well as in laboratories.

Lecturer example responsibilities.

Create web sites and documentation, using HTML, to manage various projects.
Manage a database, compile, retrieve, review and analyze test scores.
Develop and lead ELA lessons at the 8th grade level, with an emphasis on critical reading and literary analysis.
Establish and maintain practical pharmacology, anatomy and physiology labs.
Prepare course syllabus, instructional materials and assignments, assessment materials in an online distance education format.
Provide the necessary background including anatomy, chemistry, physiology, genetics, development, and environmental interactions of microorganisms.

Associate professor vs lecturer skills

Common associate professor skills

Patients, 15%
Public Health, 11%
Philosophy, 8%
Pediatrics, 4%
Social Work, 4%
Research Projects, 3%

Common lecturer skills

Semester, 20%
Philosophy, 10%
Syllabus, 5%
Course Materials, 5%
Literature, 4%
Graduate Courses, 4%

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Associate Professor
Associate Professor vs Lecturer

Updated January 8, 2025

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