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.
Associate professor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate professor resumes:
- 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.
- Course is also infuse with discussions on legal ethics, professionalism, efficient research techniques, and clear and concise writing.
- Repair physiology models and skeletons.
- Study peripheral mechanisms of renal pain including pharmacology.
- Design a new problem-base learning curriculum for mathematics.
- Consult patients and co-supervise operations of a core pediatric facility.
- Generate assessments and evaluations for developmental and college level mathematics.
- Teach psychology and sociology courses and maintains successful student retention.
- Commission all eligible senior cadets in professional & memorable ceremonies.
- Generate and monitor budget for all rehabilitation counseling and associate programs.
Associate professor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Associate Professors are proficient in Patients, Public Health, and Philosophy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Associate Professors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 15%
Apply the principles of ethics, advocacy and teaching to the everyday care of patients and their families.
- Public Health, 11%
Provide technical reports for publication regarding child development and public health.
- Philosophy, 8%
Chaired Philosophy and Liberal Studies Departments.
- Pediatrics, 4%
Coordinate Masters and Post-Masters Advanced Practice Nursing Program in Pediatrics.
- Social Work, 4%
Focused on implementing/infusing Forensic Social Work into the MSW/BSW curricula.
- Research Projects, 3%
Managed four research projects as principal investigators, two research projects as significant co-investigator.
"patients," "public health," and "philosophy" are among the most common skills that associate professors use at work. You can find even more associate professor responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an associate professor to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Associate professors often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "course content included public speaking, small group communication, interpersonal and nonverbal communication. "
Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling associate professor duties is speaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." According to an associate professor resume, here's how associate professors can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "crafted and presented complex topical analysis in criminal justice and political science to undergraduate students. "
Writing skills. associate professors are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to associate professor responsibilities, because "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." An associate professor resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "developed and taught literature classes and creative writing classes. "
The three companies that hire the most associate professors are:
- University of Florida158 associate professors jobs
- University of Vermont93 associate professors jobs
- LA State University Continuing89 associate professors jobs
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Compare different associate professors
Associate professor vs. Faculty
A faculty member is an individual 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. They help their students choose majors and mentor them by way of face-to-face or electronic means. They also keep up their communication with alumni to assist with employment searches or career changes.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between associate professors and faculty. For instance, associate professor responsibilities require skills such as "pediatrics," "graduate courses," "compassion," and "nih." Whereas a faculty is skilled in "scholarship," "professional work," "criminal justice," and "culinary." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Faculties tend to reach similar levels of education than associate professors. In fact, faculties are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 15.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Associate professor vs. Instructor, adjunct faculty
An adjunct faculty member works in a state university or college. They typically work on a part-time or contractual basis. Although they work in a university, they have limited responsibilities compared to those who work as a regular instructor, but they still need appropriate work etiquette and a love of teaching and working with students. Like any other instructor, they develop learning material, conduct lectures, prepare exams, and assess students' grades.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real associate professor resumes. While associate professor responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "public health," "philosophy," and "pediatrics," instructors, adjunct faculty use skills like "course syllabus," "learning outcomes," "learning environment," and "instructional strategies."
Instructors, adjunct faculty may earn a lower salary than associate professors, but instructors, adjunct faculty earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $54,888. On the other hand, associate professors receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $106,108.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Instructors, adjunct faculty tend to reach higher levels of education than associate professors. In fact, they're 6.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 15.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for associate professors in the next 3-5 years?
Rebecca Sarver
Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College
Associate professor vs. Language teacher
Language teachers primarily impart knowledge on multidimensional language through classes and activities. The teachers create conditions and develop activities allowing students to practice what they learned with significance. They immerse students in situational learning roles to write, read, converse, and learn different languages. Also, they are considered instrumental in establishing a supportive and positive learning environment. The teachers are also expected to be communicative and well-versed in the language/s they are teaching to their students.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an associate professor is likely to be skilled in "patients," "public health," "philosophy," and "pediatrics," while a typical language teacher is skilled in "classroom management," "english language," "mandarin," and "learning environment."
Language teachers earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $50,678. Comparatively, associate professors have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $106,108.Most language teachers achieve a similar degree level compared to associate professors. For example, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 23.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate professor vs. Adjunct faculty
Adjunct faculty is the collective term for adjunct professors or lecturers. The adjunct faculty teaches students based on the limited-term of their contract. Oftentimes, they teach preparatory or introductory courses by semester arrangement for the entire academic year. Most of them are employed in higher education. Unlike regular professors, adjunct faculty do not have benefits and are not required to be present in meetings. They can work as either a contract professor or a part-time professor.
Types of associate professor
Updated January 8, 2025
