How to hire an associate professor

How to hire an associate professor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step associate professor hiring guide:

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

What does an associate professor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your associate professor job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an associate professor for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   An associate professor's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, associate professors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents associate professor salaries for various positions.

   Type of Associate Professor	Description	Hourly rate
   Associate Professor	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.	$26-90
   Faculty	A faculty member is a professional whose primary responsibility is to provide teaching and research to students in colleges and universities. Faculties must work with colleagues to design a curriculum to keep up with the changes in the discipline... Show more	$20-73
   Instructor, Adjunct Faculty	An adjunct faculty member works in a state university or college. They typically work on a part-time or contractual basis... Show more	$15-38

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Public Health
   • Philosophy
   • Pediatrics
   • Social Work
   • Research Projects
   • Graduate Courses
   • Professional Development
   • Economics
   • Curriculum Development
   • Rehabilitation
   • Physiology
   • NIH
   • Pharmacology

   Check all skills

   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.

   More associate professor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your associate professor job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An associate professor can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, associate professors' average salary in west virginia is 57% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level associate professors 70% less than senior-level associate professors.
   • Certifications. An associate professor with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an associate professor's salary.

   Average associate professor salary

   $103,292yearly

   $49.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level associate professor salary

   $56,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

   Average associate professor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$139,697	$67
   2	Oregon	$119,306	$57
   3	New York	$116,706	$56
   4	Massachusetts	$115,904	$56
   5	Texas	$112,769	$54
   6	Utah	$111,599	$54
   7	Florida	$111,149	$53
   8	Louisiana	$110,498	$53
   9	Alabama	$107,681	$52
   10	Connecticut	$107,508	$52
   11	Georgia	$106,583	$51
   12	North Carolina	$106,362	$51
   13	Washington	$105,245	$51
   14	Michigan	$103,346	$50
   15	Arkansas	$100,887	$49
   16	Maryland	$97,351	$47
   17	District of Columbia	$96,190	$46
   18	New Jersey	$94,310	$45
   19	Colorado	$93,368	$45
   20	Virginia	$92,613	$45

   Average associate professor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Baylor College of Medicine	$243,466	$117.05	1
   2	Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital	$237,463	$114.16	3
   3	UTHealth	$226,749	$109.01	81
   4	IU Health Inc	$224,399	$107.88	2
   5	SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University	$222,645	$107.04	83
   6	Albany Medical Center	$221,728	$106.60	2
   7	Central Vermont Medical Center	$220,549	$106.03
   8	Oregon Health & Science University	$215,004	$103.37	85
   9	Medical College of Wisconsin	$213,482	$102.64	1
   10	Ohio State University Medical Center	$208,891	$100.43
   11	Palmer College of Chiropractic	$207,726	$99.87
   12	University of Massachusetts Medical School	$207,233	$99.63	1
   13	University of Mississippi Medical Center	$205,338	$98.72	10
   14	Thomas Jefferson University	$205,111	$98.61	4
   15	UMiami Health System	$204,477	$98.31	354
   16	National Louis University	$197,574	$94.99	22
   17	Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science	$196,483	$94.46	16
   18	Santa Monica College	$195,862	$94.16	2
   19	Northwell Health	$195,581	$94.03	2
   20	SIU Medicine	$195,018	$93.76

4. Writing an associate professor job description

   An associate professor 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 associate professor job description:

   Associate professor job description example

   The Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University seeks highly qualified candidates for faculty positions in the University Tenure Line or the Non-tenure Line (Research) at the level of Assistant, Associate, or full Professor.
   
   The predominant criterion for appointment in the **University Tenure Line** is a major commitment to research and teaching.
   
   The major criterion for appointment for faculty in the **Non-tenure Line (Research)** is evidence of high-level performance as a researcher for whose special knowledge a programmatic need exists.
   The candidate should hold a PhD, MD-PhD, or equivalent degree including OD, in a related field.
   
   Faculty rank and line will be determined by the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.
   
   We seek outstanding applicants with demonstrated research distinction. The strongest candidates will be scientists or clinician-scientists who demonstrate a track record of, or commitment to, a career incorporating scholarly activity, either laboratory-based or human subjects research. Evidence of success or potential for success with external peer review and funding is strongly desired. Candidates' program and goals should emphasize ocular- or vision-related research, broadly defined.
   
   Applications will be reviewed beginning August 15, 2022 and accepted until position is filled.
   
   Interested candidates should apply on this website and include the following supplemental materials:
   
   + a copy of their curriculum vitae
   
   + a brief candidate's statement outlining their interests
   
   + the names of three references
   
   The Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, and Stanford University value faculty who are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates may optionally include as part of their research or teaching statement a brief discussion of how their work will further these ideals.
   
   _Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Stanford welcomes applications from all who would bring additional dimensions to the University's research, teaching and clinical missions._

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right associate professor for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with associate professors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit associate professors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find associate professor 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

   During your first interview to recruit associate professors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   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 associate professor

   Once you've found the associate professor candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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.)

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How much does it cost to hire an associate professor?