What does a chemistry instructor do?
Chemistry instructors create lesson plans, prepare and deliver lectures, and supervise laboratory activities for students. The instructors evaluate the performance of students and maintain classroom records. They teach courses associated with physical and chemical properties and the compositional changes of substances. It is part of their tasks to meet with teachers, students' parents, and other professionals. They provide instruction in the quantitative and qualitative methods of chemical analysis. Their duties also include the maintenance of student grades, attendance records, and any other required records.
Chemistry instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chemistry instructor resumes:
- Assist classmates with developing positive study habits and strategies for managing classroom material.
- Develop syllabus and overall course structure, including course content, and administer all grades.
- Attend weekly TA meetings and collaborate with chemistry professor to design lesson plans and experiments.
- Demonstrate laboratory concepts and provide a safe working environment during laboratory.
- Operate and analyze gas chromatography, infrare spectroscopy, and H'NMR spectroscopy.
- Perform experiments relate to absolute & intrinsic viscosity and IR spectra of solid/liquid.
- Prepare lectures and laboratory experiments, prepare exams, maintain all necessary records.
- Develop syllabus, overall course structure, laboratory component relative to instructional level, and internal assessments and administer all grades.
- Teach undergraduate general and organic chemistry.
- Work directly in polymer chemistry and physics laboratory at undergraduate level and polymer blends at graduate level.
Chemistry instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Chemistry Instructors are proficient in MCAT, Professional Development, and Lab Experiments. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Chemistry Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- MCAT, 25%
Prepared and delivered lectures in organic chemistry for students preparing for the MCAT exam.
- Professional Development, 20%
Participated in 25 hours of professional development activities/seminars.
- Lab Experiments, 8%
Revised curriculum and wrote procedures manuals for lab experiments introducing salt and volumetric analysis for 11th grade students
- Student Learning, 7%
Applied interactive learning approach using PowerPoint presentations, audio and video demonstrations to enhance the student learning experience.
- Syllabus, 4%
Developed syllabus and overall course structure, and administered allassessment and grades.
- Classroom Management, 3%
Implemented positive classroom management strategies and established positive classroom climate.
"mcat," "professional development," and "lab experiments" are among the most common skills that chemistry instructors use at work. You can find even more chemistry instructor responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a chemistry instructor to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what chemistry instructors do because "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Additionally, a chemistry instructor resume shows how chemistry instructors use interpersonal skills: "assisted professors in the courses: use of computers, and interpersonal communication. "
Speaking skills. Many chemistry instructor duties rely on speaking skills. "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students.," so a chemistry instructor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways chemistry instructor responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "presented chemistry knowledge and research techniques to 200+ undergraduate students held weekly office hours and review sessions for out of class instructions"
Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of chemistry instructors is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday chemistry instructor duties, as "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "evaluate and monitor student performance in lecture and laboratory classes by writing quizzes and exams about material covered in class. "
The three companies that hire the most chemistry instructors are:
- C2 Education4 chemistry instructors jobs
- Florida Power and Light 2 chemistry instructors jobs
- Los Angeles Trade-Technical College2 chemistry instructors jobs
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Compare different chemistry instructors
Chemistry instructor vs. Sciences dean
An Assistant Professor of Chemistry is expected to contribute to the teaching and research in a university's chemistry department. Duties include teaching chemistry programs for undergraduate and postgraduate, supervising students undertaking Master's and Ph.D., conducting research, and generating scholarly publications that fulfill an international standard. An Assistant Professor of Chemistry also assists in developing research links for the university, such as affiliating to Research Institutes and working collaboratively to build a strong profile.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, chemistry instructor responsibilities require skills like "mcat," "lab experiments," "student learning," and "syllabus." Meanwhile a typical sciences dean has skills in areas such as "scholarship," "math," "sociology," and "division faculty." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Sciences deans tend to reach higher levels of education than chemistry instructors. In fact, sciences deans are 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Chemistry instructor vs. Assistant professor of chemistry
Each career also uses different skills, according to real chemistry instructor resumes. While chemistry instructor responsibilities can utilize skills like "mcat," "professional development," "lab experiments," and "student learning," assistant professors of chemistry use skills like "general chemistry," "undergraduate research," "semester," and "research projects."
Assistant professors of chemistry earn a higher average salary than chemistry instructors. But assistant professors of chemistry earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $63,383. Additionally, chemistry instructors earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $64,140 annually.In general, assistant professors of chemistry achieve lower levels of education than chemistry instructors. They're 7.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 6.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for chemistry instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Karina Skvirsky
Associate Professor, Lafayette College
Chemistry instructor vs. Associate professor of chemistry
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, chemistry instructors are more likely to have skills like "mcat," "professional development," "lab experiments," and "student learning." But a associate professor of chemistry is more likely to have skills like "laboratory courses," "sops," "fda," and "gmp."
Associate professors of chemistry earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $89,174. Comparatively, chemistry instructors have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $64,140.Most associate professors of chemistry achieve a lower degree level compared to chemistry instructors. For example, they're 10.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chemistry instructor vs. Adjunct professor of chemistry
Types of chemistry instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
